May 24 "Stay Encouraged!" (Mark 6:45-56)

Pastor Jeff Manning's latest message from the series, "Mark: Living with Kingdom Urgency."

Transcript

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Mark chapter 6, verses 45 to 56, and my sermon title this morning is Stay Encouraged. Stay encouraged. So back when I was attending D. H. Conley High School, and I was a part of Temple Church's Youth Group, I was very involved, as you might would have imagined. My mom had me and my brother and sister in church every time the doors were open. I'm pretty sure I was two weeks old when I stepped in the doors for the first time, and by God's amazing grace, I've never missed two Sundays in a row in my entire life. On this particular, I want to think it was like a Thursday. It was different. We were having youth group, but it was not on Wednesday night. I don't remember now why. I remember it being cool enough. It must have been in the fall, because I had a coat on. And I also had a mask on. A creepy bad guy-looking mask. You see, a few weeks or months earlier, our family, we had gone to um the Disney World, and we had one of those shops where you could buy, I mean, full facial masks. And I thought, butter roll, I can see some potential in that. So I bought that thing. So I put that mask on. I had my coat on and I had a cap on. Not a ball cap, more like a derby cap. And I intentionally got to youth group late. And so I walked in and everybody's looking at me, and they're thinking, I think if I had brandished even a toy gun, they probably would have called 919. Um I don't say anything, I'm I'm just looking at them. And I don't remember now how long it took, but eventually, Alice Whitley, Rod Whitley, her husband, was our youth director. They were phenomenal people outside of my parents. They had the biggest influence on my life throughout my high school years. And Alice Whitley, she figured out who I was. She said, That's that's Jeff Manning, isn't it? Do you know how she identified me? By my fingernails. Back then I used to bite them feverishly. If you'd like to know what my fingernails look like then, you can look at my son Jake. Um, because I think he has he hasn't inherited that bad characteristic from me. So um we're gonna see Jesus not being recognized by his disciples. But it's not because he's got a mask on, it's because he shows up in a moment when they least expected it. Oh, and they are terrified by the Lord at this moment. And so when we come to uh our John chapter 6, if you were here last week, you saw we saw Jesus feeding 5,000 men. The other gospels tell us in addition to women and children. So possibly as many as 15 to 20,000 people were miraculously fed by the Lord Jesus. Now, something that John tells us in his gospel that Mark leaves out in his is after all of this miraculous feeding of all of these thousands of people, the people thought, hey, if this guy can do this, guess what he could do if he was our king? And so they attempt to make him their king. And that's why we read in John chapter 6, verse 15, perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. After all, Jesus did not come in his first appearing to wear a kingly crown. He came the first time to wear a crown of thorns. He did not come to set up an earthly kingdom, he came to make it possible to have eternal life in his spiritual kingdom. And so with that in mind, Mark 6, verse 45. Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. A boy scout showed up late to his scout meeting. And when he walked in, his scout master wanted to know, son, why are you so late? He said, Well, I was trying to do my good deed for the day. Well, what did that have to do with making you late? He said, Well, I was trying to help a woman across the street. So, he said, Well, she didn't want to go across the street. These disciples didn't want to get in the boat. Like many of us have experienced with our kids, it's time to go. They're having a wonderful time with their cousins or at their grandmother's house or wherever. And it seems like they're having the best time when it's time to go. All right, kids, it's time to go. And they don't want to go. The disciples don't want to go. The crowd does not want to be dismissed. But Jesus dismisses the crowd. He tells the guys, get in the boat. The language there in verse 45, he made his disciples get into the boat. The language is strong, it's a little forceful. In my sanctified imagination, I can see him saying, Get in the boat now. They get in the boat, and then I can see him get across the lake. And that brings us to the fact that Jesus, he gets the disciples in the boat, he insists all the crowds leave, and then he escapes to a secluded spot on a mountain. And while they're on that mountain, the atmospheric conditions are going to change pretty pretty quickly, as they often did around the Sea of Galilee. And the disciples, they're going to be in a storm. This one's not necessarily life-threatening, but it is life-challenging. And Jesus will be fully aware of what's taking place, and he will do something that only God can do. He will go to his disciples in their distress, and he's going to walk on water to get there. Now, we're going to hear Jesus in a few moments. After the disciples are shocked out of their minds and terrified, Jesus is going to say, Guys, guys, take courage, be of good cheer. It is me. It is I who is here. And so when he says, you know, be of good courage, it's in the uh the tense of the verb, which means ongoing. I want you to continuously be encouraged. And so with that in mind, my purpose in preaching this morning is to share with you four reasons to stay encouraged as believers. Four reasons to stay encouraged as believers. Number one, stay encouraged because of his prayers for you. Stay encouraged because of his prayers for you. Verse 46. After he had taken leave of them, he went up to the mountain to pray. An Old Testament scholar of past years, George Adam Smith, he once climbed the Vicehorn above Zermot Valley in Switzerland. He's with a travel guide, and he would go all the way up to the top of the peak, 14,780 feet above sea level. It was a stormy day, very stormy, lots of gusty winds. Eventually they made their way up to the top. He was exhilarated. Noah, they were almost at the peak. He was so exhilarated when he got up, he stood and kind of got a little bit closer to the edge, and he should have a gust of wind blew him. His guide yanked him back down and said, Sir, up here, the only safe place is on your knees. And folks, for you and I to navigate the storms of life, you and I also need to be on our knees. Our Lord Himself, he was constantly on his knees. Even though he was the God man, he was a praying man. And so as Jesus has dismissed the crowds, go home, go get something to eat. Men get in the boat and leave. And he goes up. Thank you, Lord, for some quiet time. And on his knees. I wonder, what do you think you prayed about? As we're going to find out in a few moments, he's up there for hours. Up to nine hours, maybe a little bit more. I wonder what he prays about. I can so easily imagine him praying for that multitude of people. Oh Father, please help them realize they don't need a king to set them free from Roman oppression. They need a savior to set them free from the oppression of sin and Satan. I can so imagine him praying for the disciples. Lord, oh God, Father, please don't let them get caught up in false messianic hope. Oh God, please help them to realize that I've not come to set up an earthly kingdom, but to make it possible for them to live with me in the eternal kingdom of heaven. I can imagine, matter of fact, I almost know, I know that Jesus prayed for those disciples by name. And prayed for each one of them by name and prayed for the needs that would accompany each one of those men with their personalities and their perspectives on life. And folks, isn't it good to know that if you are a believer, he still prays for you? He prays for you by name. Several years ago when I was in grad school at Bob Jones University. Um, I I don't like admitting this, but it it was just, I don't know, it was a fact of life. I did not do it intentionally, but I would get up so early in the morning, go to work at UPS, and then come home, shower, zoom, first thing, chapel. And I'm sitting there in chapel, the graduate students, we were up in the balcony far, far, far away. It's a good thing. Because, man, almost every single time, man, I ain't lying, I was tired, I was sleepy. And I could remember all those four years. Today in chapel, we're gonna be praying for um this particular alumnus and this particular alumnus. So let's pray for these alumni. And I'm thinking, man, I don't know these people. And then fast forward a few years, I'm pastoring at Unity, and I got a postcard. And that postcard said, Jeff, as one of our uh alumni, your name will be called out in prayer on such and such a date. That radically changed my attitude. Didn't matter a whole lot to think they were praying for these people. I didn't know. Then they were gonna be praying for me, and I know there are any number of you you pray for me. Anybody who might look at my ministry here and think, man, 36 years, that's incredible. A lot of the reason is because of people like you praying for me. And even a bigger reason is because of my Lord praying for me by name, my Lord praying for my wife by name, my Lord praying for my children and now my grandchildren. After all, the Bible says in Hebrews 7.25, it tells us that Christ is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Romans 8.34, it says that Christ, Jesus, is the one who died, more than that, who was raised, who is the right hand, who was at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Listen to Jesus' sobering and encouraging words to Peter. In my sanctified imagination, there's gonna be a pause, and I'm gonna read it with a pause because I think he did it that way. Uh Luke 22, verse 31 and 32. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you that he may sift you as wheat. The imagery there is to have the sieve and all of these jagged edges, and you shake it and you shake it and you shake it, and the the kernels fall through, the chaff goes up into the air. Simon, Simon, Satan wants to shake you and rattle you and make you a faithless man so that you fall through. But I have prayed for you. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. Folks, I wonder how many times the Lord might have thought to himself, Jeff, Jeff, do you not know that Satan has asked to sift you his wheat? But I have prayed for you. And so, folks, I you you and I as b as believers, we should be encouraged to know that Jesus prays for us. A second reason to stay encouraged is because of his perception of you, his perception of you. Verse 47. And when evening came, the boat was out at sea, and he was alone on the land, and he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them. Now, it says, When evening came, uh, it refers to what they would have called the second evening, or the period from 6 to 9 p.m. Now, if you were here last week, Jesus fed the multitudes during the first evening, that is somewhere between 3 and 6 p.m. But now the sun is down, dusk has turned to darkness, and with each passing hour, the distance between the disciples at sea and Jesus on land widened. Further and further apart. Now, perhaps many of you would agree that one of the, I think one of the best, most helpful apps on our smartphones are those Find Me Now or the location app. And um, so if you've got it set up properly and you've you've wondered, oh, where are my AirPods? Well, you can check the Find Me, find, find my whatever app, and you can find out where your AirPods are if they're still charged. Or can you find them when they're not charged? I don't know. And um, maybe you know, you got in a hurry, you got a phone call, you were having coffee at uh Starbucks, and you got a phone call and you quickly left to take care of something, and you realized, oh snap, I left my phone. Well, you pull up the app on your computer and you can find out if your phone is still there or if it's somewhere else. And then it's also possible not just to track stuff, but to track people. And when you've got your family or friends and they share their location, man, you can look at any moment and know where they are. Let me tell you something. When Jenna Jake or Joanna, when they are on the road, that woman right there, she has got that app and she looks at it. I mean, like, I mean, just a few weeks ago, she was saying, well, Joanna or Jenna, I can't remember who was traveling their sofa. And then, like, two minutes later, I said, Jennifer, they're like two minutes further down the road. You ain't got to check the app. I mean, boom, boom, boom. But you know, if if parents, you've got that on your phone, you you know when your kids make it home or back to college campus. As spouses, you can know that they're okay, that they got to their work destinations or whatever. Um, knowing someone's location can bring such peace of mind. And yet, as helpful as that technology is, Jesus never needs an app to locate us. He never wonders where we are physically, spiritually, or emotionally. He never loses track of his kids and things. Well, let me find out where they are right now. Listen to Proverbs 15, it declares, Proverbs 15, 3 declares, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Job reiterated this truth when he asked, Does the Lord not see my ways and number all of my steps? Rhetorical questions. The answer is yes, of course he sees my ways. Of course he sees all my steps. And then David famously made these quote, this quote in Psalm 139, verses 7 and following. Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth or the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. Folks, in moments when you feel forgotten, isolated, or unseen, Christ knows exactly where you are. He knows exactly what you're going through. And when you're tempted to be afraid and fearful, the Lord knows all about it. He knows all about it. How encouraging is that? Um, the fact that we're told, I think it was for emphasis, we're told the boat was out at sea and he was alone on the land. It seems to emphasize the distance that just kept growing between them. And maybe sometimes we're prone to think, you know, here I am in Pitt County, Greenville, Winterville, Aden, Grimesland, Simpson. And the Lord is wherever the third heaven, I wonder how far away that is. Nobody knows. But it doesn't matter. Instantly and incessantly, he, regardless of however far you may be, away from where you are now, regardless of wherever the Lord is, he sees it all the time. And we're told in verse 48 that they he saw that they were making headway painfully. So keep in mind, this all started somewhere between 6 and 9 p.m. And so now they've been out for a few hours. It's pitch black dark. And yet the Lord sees, He sees them supernaturally. The Lord does not need a GPS or some find my sheep app. His perception of you is never hindered by distances, circumstances, or time of day or night. And just as we were reminded last week, can I just remind us all again? He sees and knows all about your tears and your troubles. Um, within the last few days, the last couple of weeks. Some of you got the big C word put in your lap. You've got cancer. Uh, some of you, you're gonna start chemo this week. Some of you are gonna probably attend a funeral this week that you didn't see coming. The Lord's right there, his perception of you and everything going on in your life is perfect. He knows all about it. He knows about your disappointments, he knows about your discouragements, he knows what's tempting you to be depressed, he knows all about your heartbreak and your headaches, he knows about your sleepless nights. And so, even if you might have some circumstantial reasons to think nobody cares and nobody knows what I'm going through, it ain't true. The Lord knows, and He cares. Now, um Back in 2019, Rex and I we went to the Grand Canyon. Some of you might remember uh this was one of those bucket list trips where we intended, and by God's grace, we were successful in hiking from the rim of the canyon to the bottom to the Colorado River, Phantom Ranch, and all the way back up in one day. Uh it took us almost exactly nine hours, and it took it it was about almost exactly 19 miles total. And uh, as you can imagine, I mean, when you get up to the top, glory, hallelujah! I mean, I wish I wish I could show you the picture that we took as soon as we got up there and we sent it to our wives and families. Well, because we were so exhausted the next day, we thought we'll do something a little bit less strenuous. So we rented bikes. Bad mistake. Bad mistake. Rex is my witness. Uh-uh, folks, I it seemed as if the Lord was was just messing with us. Just messing with us. It seemed like no matter which way we turned, east, west, north, south, the wind was in our face. We didn't think we'd ever get back to that rental shop. I got there and I just kind of shoved that bike. And so therefore, I can sympathize with the disciples as they were making headway painfully. They were straining at the oars, straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. They were working feverishly to row their boat to where the Lord had told them to go. It was incredibly hard, it was torturous, and the Lord knew it would be that way. You with me? Guess what? Serving the Lord is not always easy. Matter of fact, serving the Lord is rarely easy. Sometimes it's hard to be faithful to Jesus. But mark this painful obedience is far better than pleasurable disobedience. You be obedient to the Lord, and whatever hardships come, whatever pains and adversity you have to face, far better. Than to be outside of God's will and seemingly on easy street. Peer pressure. Peer pressure can be a torturous experience. And some of you teenagers, some of you college students, even those of you in middle school and all men, peer pressure, peer pressure. It's not easy to keep yourself pure. It's not easy to not expose yourself to stuff you shouldn't be looking at. It's not easy to do what's right. But far better to experience those difficulties of obedience than to enjoy the temporary pleasures that come from disobedience. The troubles and the difficulties you experience in obedience to the Lord always have redemptive purposes. Always have redemptive purposes. Far better to obey and endure whatever difficulties that result than to disobey and enjoy the ease and pleasures that result. It was John the Baptist's obedience that cost his head to be served on a platter. It was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's obedience that got them thrown in a fiery furnace. This is the antithesis of the prosperity gospel. This whole name it and claim it mess, I don't even want to call it name it and claim it theology. It's not theology, it's not Bible. According to the Bible, there are times when the more faith and obedience you seek to exercise, the harder life may get. There are some difficulties that come from living for Christ that you could avoid if you didn't live for him. If you know Christ and you let your light shine brightly, you do so in a world that hates the light. This world so hates light, spiritual light, they tried to permanently extinguish the light of the world. Jesus. And so, folks, obedience may bring winds of adversity, but it also fills yourselves with the Spirit's energy and authority. You see, while obedience will bring contrary winds, it will also bring joy. Never climb a mountain and you'll never bruise your shins. Never play baseball. Oh, but if you climb if you never climb a mountain and you never bruise your shins, you'll also never stand on the peak and have the exhilarating experience of having climbed that mountain. Never play baseball and you won't strike out, you'll also never hit the game winning run. Never obey Christ and you will miss some of life's contrary winds, but you will also never know the winds of the Spirit's blessing that will take you to places in your walk with Christ that you can imagine now. Stay encouraged because of his perception of you. He knows what's going on. And when life might seemingly be the hardest, just know that obeying him and the pain that comes with it is far better than disobeying and having some temporary relief. Thirdly, stay encouraged because of his power that's on tap for you. Because of his power on tap for you. Now, in the verses we're about to read, Jesus demonstrates his deity and power in three ways. We're going to see him walking on water, claiming equality with Yahweh, Jehovah God, and healing the sick. Verse 48. And about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea. As a reminder, the fourth watch was from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. So at some point in the we hours of the morning, these men have been struggling at the oars. They've been struggling against the wind for hours. Jesus comes to disciples, not by boat, but by walking on water. Verse 48, middle part of the verse. He meant to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid. And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. All right, so let's go back and look at that first phrase. He meant to pass by them. Does that strike you as strange? He meant to pass by them. On the surface, it seems like you know what? He's fully intent. I'm gonna walk right on by those boys. They can get there on their own. I'm gonna just keep on cruising across the water. But we we that that would communicate that he didn't even care. So we know that can't be the case. So what does it mean? There are a whole lot of different explanations, proposals put forth by guys smarter than me about what this might have meant. I think the best answer is actually couched in the Old Testament with some theophanies. Some of you are familiar with the Christophany, that's when there is a preincarnate appearance of Christ. A theophany is an appearance, a manifestation of God in a little bit more general way. For example, listen to how God manifested himself to Moses. Exodus 33, verses 18 to 23. Moses said, Please show me your glory. And he, Yahweh, God the Father, we might say, said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name, the Lord, Yahweh, Jehovah. But you cannot see my face, for man cannot see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. Three times in that one passage we just read, it speaks about God and his glory passing by Moses. First Kings chapter 19. Elijah. As many of you know, Elijah was hated and was put to run like a fugitive by uh the wicked king Ahab and his wife Jezebel. They wanted him dead. Elijah finds himself in a cave on Mount Sinai, and God says, Elijah, what are you doing? Why are you cowering in that cave? Elijah places, poor little old me card and said, You know what, Lord, you I would think you know this. I mean, everybody's forsaken you, and I alone am left. Come on. He was so not accurate in his assessment. That's when God told him, 1 Kings 19, 11, go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold the Lord passed by. In that moment of crisis, Elijah, like Moses before him, experienced a theophany of the glory of Yahweh as it passed by. All the disciples would have been readily familiar with those stories. They were etched in their minds from their childhood on. And so this was an incredible teaching moment for them. The God of the Old Testament is also the God of the New Testament. As Jesus is passing them by, it's almost like he's saying, Men, I am God. I'm not just a great prophet, I'm certainly more than a superhero. I am God. They still hadn't quite figured that out. They knew Jesus was special. They were believing that he was the Messiah, but they had some misconceptions about what that was all about. And so, verse 49, when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and they cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. Now, as some of you know, I get easily startled. Now, that does not mean I'm a scaredy cat. That does not mean I'm a wimp. I just get startled real easy. And my family, they love me experiencing that. Zeke, my grandson Zeke, I ain't lying. That boy is consumed with startling pops. Every opportunity, he's he's constantly doing it. So, Elaine Jenkins, our former office manager, she's just like me in that. And it's been a few months ago, maybe a couple years ago now. I'm coming down the hallway to where the copy room is on the left. I don't know, Elaine's in there. She doesn't know I'm coming down the hall. She has not started any any um copying, so therefore I have no idea anybody's in there. And so when I get there, she screamed like a fifth grade girl. And I scream like a seventh grade girl. Whew, I did. And Jennifer, she's heard some of those girly sounding screams. Well, guess what? These men did the same thing. They cried out. The word cried out means they screamed with terror. That word cried out, it is used in some other places by Mark for the shrieks of terror that came out of demon-possessed people. These grown men saw what they thought was a ghost. They screamed like schoolgirls and were terrified. Looking back on it, they were probably a little embarrassed. Verse 50. They all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, Men, take heart, be encouraged. It is I. Do not be afraid. In the Greek, when it says it is I, it simply means I am. Now keep in mind, they're terrified. And if you're trying to calm somebody down from being terrified, you need to speak truth that would be comforting. Men, I am. I am. Oh, those early Jewish guys would have readily known that that those are the same words that God spoke to Moses at the burning bush. Who am I going to tell him sent me to say to Pharaoh, let my people go? You tell them, I am sent you. Jesus would have a confrontation with the scribes and the Pharisees. Before Abraham was, I am. I am the pre-existent one. I am God. I am eternal. And so Jesus not only walks where only God can walk, but he also bears God's name. The great I am, was showing these men his deity. Now, it's at this point where Matthew's gospel tells us about Peter getting out of the boat. Which makes you wonder why didn't Mark so not to get technical, but a lot of Bible scholars think that Peter was the primary source for Mark. That does not discount the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit governed every word. But Mark's not there. Mark's not one of the apostles, but he gets uh one of the initial apostles, he gets information from Peter. And it's almost as though Peter gets to this point, don't include that part. And I don't even know that he maybe this is just using my sanctified imagination. I don't know whether he even didn't want it included because he sunk. And Jesus said, Why do you have little faith? Or maybe, you know what? I was the only one that I was the only one that got out, but no, don't include that. Verse 51. And he, Jesus, he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. I find it just a little bit humorous, but in John 6.21, it tells us they were glad to take him in the boat. We are so glad to have you. When he got in the boat with them, he wanted them to understand that God's in the boat. God is in the boat with you. I'm not merely a prophet, I'm God. He can not only walk on water, he created every drop of it. And so, folks, take home truth. Better to be in a crisis with Christ than in a calm without him. Better to be in a crisis with Christ than in a calm without him. Again, if you are obedient to Christ, there are going to be plenty of storms. There will be danger and difficulty. There will be weariness and exposure and anxiety and dread and distress. The disciples were in the middle of a violent storm, straining at the oars, terrified and exhausted. But though the sea was raging, Jesus was near. Compare that to the countless people in the world who may have calm circumstances outwardly, steady finances, good health, comfortable lives, yet they are without Christ and without hope. A storm with Jesus is still safer than a calm without him because his presence changes everything. With Christ, there is peace in fear, purpose in suffering and hope and uncertainty. Without him, even the calmest season is temporary and spiritually empty. The safest place a person can ever be is not in the absence of trouble, but in the presence of the Savior. The presence of the Savior. A fourth and final reason is because of his patience with you. Because of his patience with you. Verse 51. And they were utterly astounded. I think it it it may be clicked now in a way that it hadn't before. They were utterly astounded for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. Are you surprised to read that? Their hearts were hardened. Why? Why were their hearts hardened? We know it's not from sheer rejection. We know it's not from a lack of intelligence. So why? What was it about the loaves that didn't understand? It's almost as though Jesus feeds this multitude of people, and it's almost like, oh hum, we've seen miracles before. And we really we really liked, we really liked it when the people were saying, make him king, make him king, they're thinking, yeah, yeah, and we'll be in your cabinet. And so when Jesus dismisses them and tells them to get in the boat, that's not why I came here. They're thinking, maybe they're in that boat on that sea, and for hours, it's possible those men rowed against that wind for up to nine hours. And maybe, to be sure, none of you have ever done this, but maybe they're thinking, fine, why didn't you tell us to get in this boat anyway? Wow, what happened to that little mini sabbatical we talked about 36 hours ago? Um, can I ask a question? Is your heart as tender as it used to be? Have you allowed disappointment or seemingly unanswered prayers to harden your heart a little bit? Have you allowed hurt feelings, deeply hurt feelings to toughen your heart? Have any of you lost the awe of God's grace? Have any of you privately, you wouldn't want to admit this in small group, R in D group, but have any of you privately questioned God's goodness? Have any of you kind of thought, you know what? I think you've dealt me a raw deal. Remarkably, remarkably, they did not receive a rebuke from the Lord. He doesn't rebuke them. Their compassionate Savior Shepherd knows they've got so much more to learn, so much more to endure. And folks, the patience he showed them, he's still the same patient God with us. Let's not take advantage of it. But listen, 2 Peter 3:9, the Lord. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promises. Some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. Folks, it's possible that somebody's here and God's been so unbelievably patient with you so that you can hear the gospel today and be set free from your sin. Romans 2, verse 4. It teaches us that God's kindness and forbearance and patience, you know what they're designed to do? To lead you to repentance, to just recognize how good God's been, how patient He's been. Oh God, I'm sorry. Lord, tenderize my heart. Make it soft and pliable like it used to be, Lord. I'm sorry. Roman, I mean Psalm 86, verse 15. But you, oh Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Listen to Paul's personal testimony in 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 16. I received mercy for this reason, that in me as the foremost Jesus might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. And so, folks, a reason to be encouraged this morning is because of the patience the Lord shows to you and to me. You have no idea how patient the Lord's been with me. You don't know me the way he does. So the story continues in verse 53 when they had crossed over, they came to land at Genezaret. So they were supposed to be going to Bethsaida, and now they wind up at Genezareth. Well, why was that? Because of those contrary winds. The winds blew them, not where Jesus had said to go, but where he actually planned for them to go. And they moored to the shore, verse 54. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that he might touch, that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And folks, they were not disappointed. Because verse 56 continues, and as many as touched it were made well. Jesus' healing power has no limits, his loving kindness, no boundaries. There was nothing magical about the tassels on his garment. It was all about having faith in Jesus. Faith in God who was wearing the robe with the tassels. Now, folks, Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. He loves you more than you love yourself, and that's a lot. He's more compassionate than you could ever hope. He's more powerful than you could ever imagine. He knows your needs perfectly. And I believe if you're a believer, he wants you to be encouraged this morning. Be encouraged by the fact he prays for you. Be encouraged by his perception of you. It is uninterrupted. Be encouraged by his power that he makes available to you, and be encouraged by his patience with you. And all God's people said amen. Let's pray. Father, um, maybe one of my dear brothers and sisters this morning needs. To have their head lifted a little bit. Cheer up. Take heart. Be encouraged, my sweet child. I'm God. I am. And I pray for you. And I know everything there is to know about you. And I'm patient with you. And I have power available to sustain you. And so may those of you who are in the faith who know Jesus, would you just maybe cry out to him and say, Lord, would you tenderize my heart afresh and anew? I don't, I don't want a hard heart. I don't want a crusty heart. I want it to be soft and pliable, always moldable in the hands of the potter. Lord, for any of my dear brothers and sisters that maybe have been succumbing to some of the pressures that come, some of the difficulties that come from following Jesus. And maybe now they're asking for cleansing, for forgiveness. Thank you, Lord, for granting that. Help us, Lord, to be people who follow our Savior regardless of where he may lead us. And may we be encouraged today. And Father, if somebody knows not Christ as his or her Savior, I pray that when this service is over, after a couple of more congregationals, that they will seek somebody and find out more about Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen.