WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:03.600 So, how in the world are you all doing? 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.599 Is this PA system working? 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:09.439 Can you all hear me? 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:13.439 Those of you in the back row, especially, I'm gonna keep my eyes on you. 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:16.559 What a delight it is to be back here. 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:18.960 I was here two years ago. 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:21.199 That was 2017. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:22.960 Now it's 2019. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:24.800 I think that's two years. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:30.719 You know that seven out of six people have trouble with math, but I think that's correct. 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:45.679 And I'm just sorry that Jesse isn't here, but I'm so glad that he's ministering in Rwanda and having a great ministry there, and what a wonderful thing it is for your church to have such a worldwide impact. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:50.960 There's one correction I would like to make that Jesse said in his introduction. 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:53.920 I do not have a PhD from Loyola. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:01:06.239 I did finish all of my course requirements, passed my comps for a PhD, but never did the dissertation because I became the pastor of Moody Church and other things became more important. 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:32.959 So that clarification, you know, there was a man, and I have not told this story for years, though I used it, I think, at word of life, some of the people here from word of life, vorg das Lebens, if you say it in German, as God intended, uh, you know, he was introduced as having made a million dollars in oil in California. 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:37.040 And he stood up and said, I just want to make a few corrections. 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:40.719 First of all, he says it wasn't in oil, it was in coal. 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:45.120 He said it wasn't in California, it was in Pennsylvania. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:50.480 He said it wasn't a million dollars, it was only a half million dollars. 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:54.239 And he said it wasn't me, it was my brother. 00:01:56.400 --> 00:01:59.200 And he said he didn't make it, he lost it. 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:03.280 I thought that was funny too, but you guys didn't, huh? 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:06.640 So it's a great delight to be here. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:17.360 Now I am two years older than I was here, and Rebecca and I we get the privilege of speaking at places like Boca Ratone, Florida, where old people go to visit their parents. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:26.560 And uh, you know, we heard a story there recently, which probably is true, perhaps. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:33.039 A widower was looking across the table to a widow, and he said to her, Would you marry me? 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:38.560 And she said, Well, she said, uh, she thought about it for five seconds and said, Yes. 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:44.879 And uh the next day, though, he could not remember how she answered. 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:49.280 But he had her phone number and said, You know, yesterday we had a great time together. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:54.400 He said, I asked you whether or not you would marry me, but um, what was your answer? 00:02:55.199 --> 00:02:58.400 And she said, I said yes with all my heart. 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:04.319 And she said, but I'm so glad you called because I forget who it is that asked me. 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:09.599 That's the way it is in old age. 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:14.000 I just want to say a word regarding my book, The Church in Babylon. 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:16.719 Jesse was so kind to make those remarks. 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:29.360 It deals with immigration, five false gospels within the evangelical church, transgenderism, a whole host of other topics that relate to America today. 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:42.319 So I feel very deeply about it, and uh I'm so glad that your church has it on hand, and I think later on I will be able to uh personalize it for you after the service. 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:44.240 So great to see you. 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:53.360 Today I decided to speak to you on the topic of how to survive a storm amid all of the things that I could talk about. 00:03:53.759 --> 00:04:03.599 And if you were at Word of Life, you know that my last sermon had to do with the American left and the responsibility of the church toward it, but we're not going there today. 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.840 I want to lift your spirits and I want to give you hope. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:10.560 Because all of us experience storms. 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:13.039 You may be going through a health storm. 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:21.279 Maybe this past week your doctor said something to you that you thought could only be true of somebody else. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:24.000 For many of you, it may be a financial storm. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:26.079 Maybe it's a relational storm. 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:28.879 Your marriage seems to come unraveling. 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:41.839 I have a friend who said that, you know, speaking of marriage, he said, you know, I for my birthday, somebody gave me a humidifier and somebody gave me a dehumidifier, so I put them in the same room and just let them fight it out. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:44.000 That's the way marriage is. 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:46.319 God in heaven puts two people together. 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:57.120 By the way, I wasn't going to say this, this isn't a lecture on marriage, but you folks getting up here so early to church, you deserve a special insight regarding marriage. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:05.600 Marriage is actually two people solving problems together that they'd have never had if only they'd stayed single. 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:06.399 All right. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:09.759 Do we have a witness? 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:20.560 But I want you to know that no matter what your storm is today, you're going to receive hope on how to survive a storm. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:27.199 Turn to the 14th chapter, and of course, if you're young, you didn't bring a Bible, did you? 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:32.800 You have your cell phone, you have your jackhammer, you have your iPad. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:38.800 Well, no matter which way you have it, turn to the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:45.360 Matthew chapter 14, it's on page 820, if you have a Bible like mine. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:48.879 And you'll notice the passage was actually read to us. 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:56.000 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. 00:05:56.480 --> 00:06:00.959 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:04.160 When evening came, he was there alone. 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:12.079 But the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:17.519 Is there someone here today who says, That is me? 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:21.120 The wind is against me. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:28.240 No matter where I turn, there are difficulties, there are challenges, one after another. 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:32.079 One gust of wind comes and another follows. 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:35.279 The wind was against them. 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:38.959 If that's you, you're in the right place today. 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:49.040 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them walking on the sea, but when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost. 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:51.360 They cried out in fear. 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:57.120 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:59.120 Just that far for now. 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:08.160 Now, in this age of technology, I'm very glad to say that my outline is actually going to be on the screen. 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:14.160 So it's going to be very easy for these folks up here, one, two, three, four, five. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:16.319 They're all taking notes. 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:19.759 I just noticed it when I sat down over there. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:30.480 Uh, you know, and and I'll tell you that in heaven, their head is going to be tilted because their crown is going to be so heavy. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:32.000 So God bless you. 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:37.279 And it'll be easy for you to do that because the outline is up there. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:41.040 Seven lessons on how to survive a storm. 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:43.040 Now, this is what I want you to do. 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:45.199 I want you to write them down. 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:49.519 I want you to laminate them and put them on your refrigerator. 00:07:50.480 --> 00:08:02.560 That's your assignment because if you don't need them today, you'll need them tomorrow because you are either going into a storm, you're either in one or you're just coming out of one and waiting for the next one. 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:06.399 So, how do you survive a storm? 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:08.480 We're going to be very simple. 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:11.279 You know, Jordan, you are Jordan, right? 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.879 You're not the Sea of Galilee, but you are the Jordan River. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:22.399 My staff in Chicago used to pray that God would keep me simple, and many people think he's overdone it. 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:28.959 So, what I want to do is to be simple, but these lessons are transforming. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:35.679 Number one, simply this, that storms often come to us in obedience to Christ. 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:38.399 They come to us in obedience to Christ. 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:39.600 Let me ask you a question. 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:45.120 Were the disciples in the will of God when they got into that boat and went to the other side? 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:46.879 Of course. 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:50.559 Don't you wish that God spoke to you like that? 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:55.360 Get into this boat and go to the other side. 00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:02.639 In obedience to Christ, they encounter one of the greatest storms that they ever encountered on Galilee. 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:09.440 And I need to say that oftentimes when we're in a storm, we think, well, I must be out of the will of God, not necessarily. 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:14.720 Sometimes it is in obedience to Christ that we encounter those storms. 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:20.960 The holiest path in life is oftentimes not the smoothest path. 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:38.559 Many times we think that if we're in the will of God, we're going to be walking along this pathway, and there are going to be beautiful flowers on each side, and we're going to have health, and we're going to have wealth, and everything is going to go well, and everybody's going to be healed, and everybody's going to have enough money. 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:39.519 No, no, no. 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:44.480 The will of God is oftentimes a hard road. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:50.720 This storm actually was created for them by Christ. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:54.799 The storm was part of God's will for them. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:10:04.639 In fact, just to put it clearly, this storm was appointed by Jesus for these disciples. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:11.759 You're in a storm today, things aren't going well at work, people aren't appreciating you the way they should. 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:14.559 You've been hurt by some relatives. 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:18.159 You're going through a time of difficulty and challenge. 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:20.720 That doesn't mean you're out of God's will. 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:28.080 The will of God is often difficult, hard, and filled with headwinds. 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:29.600 That's lesson number one. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:34.559 Lesson number two is simply this storm should remind us of the promises of God. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:38.080 Remind us of the promises of God. 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:40.399 You say, well, where's that in the text? 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:47.919 When Pastor Jesse teaches, you should always ask, Pastor Jesse, donde está la text. 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:50.799 Where is it in the text? 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:59.039 You'll notice it says, immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side. 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:07.919 Listen, if the creator of the winds and the oceans tells you to get into that boat and go to the other side, you'll make it to the other side. 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:11.679 They could have enjoyed the storm. 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:20.639 They could have said, Jesus said that we're to go to the other side and we know we will make it. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:24.639 There was no possibility that that boat could go down. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:32.240 And the reason was because there were still people on that boat, the disciples for whom God had work to do. 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:37.919 Peter had not yet written 1 and 2 Peter, he had not preached his sermons. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:45.919 John had not yet written his book and the epistles of John, and the work was there that God still had for them to do. 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:51.600 If I might put it clearly, if you're to be hung, you'll never drown. 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:58.799 In other words, the will of God is accomplished by those who walk in his will in obedience. 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:01.440 And I know that we have security. 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:02.960 Security is a big issue. 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:05.440 We go through security everywhere nowadays. 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:07.759 I'm sure that you have security at this church. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:09.840 We have it at Moody Church. 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:22.159 But I'm always comforted to know that there is no combination of men and demons who can put us to death if God thinks there's still work for us to do. 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:25.840 Because ultimately we are in his hands. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:30.399 Now, when you're going through a storm, what you want to do is to cleave to the promises. 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:38.000 When I was a little boy growing up in Canada, we used to sing the song Every Promise in the Book is Mine. 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:40.320 Every chapter, every verse, every line. 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:41.919 That's not true. 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:50.799 God made some promises to Abraham that he didn't make to me, but there are plenty of promises that you can learn and memorize. 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:59.919 And notice these two young people right on this front row over here, you're not too young to begin to memorize the promises of God. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:01.120 Will you remember that? 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:02.480 Can you go like this? 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:04.639 Thank you for that obedience. 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:07.440 His alternatives were limited. 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:09.679 But here's the thing. 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:12.559 You know, you think, for example, of Romans chapter 8. 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:14.559 Nothing shall separate us from the love of God. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:20.399 Tribulation, distress, persecution, nakedness, which means poverty, sword, martyrdom. 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:22.799 Nothing shall separate us from the love of God. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:25.759 There are times when we need the last part of Romans 8. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:29.679 Actually, we need the whole chapter, but the promises of God. 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:32.960 Could I think of another one this morning? 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:38.559 13th chapter of Hebrews, verse 5, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:42.960 In Greek, there are five negatives in that verse. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.159 God says, I will no not leave you. 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:48.480 I will no not forsake you. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:53.919 Five times God says, never, never, never, never, never. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:14:00.960 And there are times when we are going through the storm, where we have to cleave to the promises of God. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:04.639 You know, Martin Luther once said, What happens when you look around? 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:07.279 Islam was growing during his time. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:11.120 He lived during the time of the Ottoman Empire. 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:16.000 It seemed as if Christians were being killed and countries were being absorbed. 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:25.279 So Luther's point is this: what does the Christian do when he looks around and sees no reason to believe that God is on his side? 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:30.480 Luther says, at that point you believe God's bare word. 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:37.039 There are times in life all that we have is the promises of God. 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:40.320 Well, let's hurry on to number three. 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:43.440 Number three, and this may be the most important. 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:51.039 Number three is simply this: even when we can't see Jesus, Jesus sees us. 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:55.919 Even when we can't see Jesus, Jesus sees us. 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:59.759 Do you think that they could see Jesus there on the mountain? 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:01.039 Of course not. 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:12.080 Rebecca and I were in Israel in March, and as we went across the Sea of Galilee in a boat, we noticed that off in the distance, of course, there are these hills. 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:17.039 They're called mountains in the Bible, and we don't know which one Jesus was on. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:22.080 But the point is that during the night, four o'clock in the morning, they could see Jesus? 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:23.279 Of course not. 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:28.480 But even though they could not see Jesus, Jesus could see them. 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:32.799 He knew the longitude and the latitude of their little boat. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:34.480 He knew the strength of the wind. 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:37.679 He knew the strength of every single board. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:40.720 And he knew the depth of the water. 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:44.159 And there are times in life when we can't see God. 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:49.759 There are times of such darkness and distress when everything fades. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:53.360 I played tennis with a man for 20 years. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:59.840 By the way, tennis players make terrible husbands usually because to a tennis player love means nothing. 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:09.039 But my tennis player by the name of Mark was told that he had terminal cancer. 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:24.799 And before he died, of course, this would have been before he died, he came out of the room, he told me, in the last days of his life, and he said he was so full of pain in the middle of the night, such darkness. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:32.080 He said, Irwin, he said, it just seemed as if all faith drained from my soul. 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:35.120 There are times when we can't see God. 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:39.120 Even when we have his promises, we can't see him. 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:56.799 But the good news is that even when we cannot see God, God sees us, and when push comes to shove, as it often does in life, it is more important that God see us than that we see God. 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:07.519 And God sees your little boat today, tossed and turned and the wind being contrary, everything going wrong. 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:10.799 God knows the longitude and the latitude of your life. 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:12.960 He knows whom you married. 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:15.440 He knows your past. 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:24.000 And in our darkness we must always remember that even when we cannot see him, he sees us. 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:29.839 Well, number four is simply this: that Jesus comes to us at the right time. 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:35.839 He comes to us at the point of our desperation, at the right time. 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:37.920 Notice I read the text. 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:41.440 At the fourth watch of the night, Jesus comes walking. 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:44.079 The fourth watch of the night. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:45.440 What is the fourth watch of the night? 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:47.680 That's four o'clock in the morning when it's the darkest. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:52.640 It's the time when the disciples are most confused and the most weary. 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:59.599 By the way, Galilee isn't that far across if you've been to the Sea of Galilee and gone across it. 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:07.359 The fact is this that they began in the evening and still had not gotten across, maybe seven or eight miles. 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:09.839 We're not sure exactly where they were. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:15.279 But the point is that they were weary and they still hadn't make it. 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:20.640 I mean, that would have been normally a piece of cake for these hardened disciples. 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:27.359 By that I mean physically hardened and able disciples to make it, but the wind was against them. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:41.440 So all night, basically, until four, they are rowing, and Jesus finally comes to them on the lake at the point of their desperation, at the time of their darkness, he shows up. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.640 God loves desperate people. 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:57.680 One of the things that amazes me is that in this hour of history here in America, during a time of great darkness, and it's dark and it's getting darker, Christians still don't pray. 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:07.839 We still don't really call on God, and we have to do that if we do it with deep repentance over our own sins and over our own failures. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:18.079 And God brings people, though, to the point of desperation because only desperate people pray, and God loves to answer the prayer of the desperate. 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:24.960 Rebecca and I know a woman who was involved in an immoral lifestyle. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:27.039 That's the way she made her living. 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:33.599 And she told us that she used to pray, God, get me out of here. 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.640 But he never answered her prayer. 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:46.640 Until one time in utter, total desperation, she fell on her knees and said, Oh God, get me out of here or kill me. 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:50.160 But to one or the other, and she meant it. 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:52.480 And that day she walked free. 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:59.039 Today she's married to a man who had a similar background, and they are ministering to people who are broken. 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:03.039 And there are plenty of broken people in our world. 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:04.640 Desperation. 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:08.400 God is the just in time, God. 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:15.119 I want you to see that here's Abraham willing to sacrifice Isaac. 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:21.440 And the knife is already gleaming in the morning sunlight as Isaac is laid on the altar. 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:25.440 And just in time, God says, No, don't do that. 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:32.480 And then just in time, there's a ram caught in the thicket to be offered instead of Isaac. 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:34.720 Just in time. 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:39.359 A point of desperation, the point of darkness. 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:42.400 Jesus shows up. 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:44.559 Well, we're hurrying here. 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:46.079 We're making very good progress. 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:51.599 Number five, our fears might be Jesus in disguise. 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:56.960 Our fears might be Jesus in disguise, not in disguise. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:08.160 I remember saying this to somebody, and he thought, you know, you fly the friendly skies, disguise, of United Airlines or whatever. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:11.039 That's not what's going on here. 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:14.640 I mean disguise, camouflage might be another word. 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:18.319 You'll notice that they don't recognize Jesus. 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:22.400 They cry out and they say it's a ghost and they cry out in fear. 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:26.079 But actually they don't know it's Jesus coming to them. 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:31.279 And sometimes we don't recognize that Jesus is coming to us in our storms. 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:33.279 All that we see is the wind. 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:42.240 If I might refer to my friend Mark again, about a week or two before he died, I said, Mark, have you ever thanked God for your cancer? 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:47.359 He said, Oh yes, I thank him every day, because to me he said heaven was very theoretical. 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:48.960 Now it's very real. 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:56.319 Well, I can tell you this that when he was told he had terminal cancer, he was not thanking God every day. 00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:59.759 When we finished playing a tennis game, we'd sit down. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.880 Together and he'd weep, and I would listen to him and weep along with him. 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:07.519 All that there was was fear. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:12.880 I remember him describing, you know, the fear of the unknown, the fear of dying, fear, fear, fear. 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:21.519 But now that he accepted it, he saw that it was Jesus coming to him. 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:24.400 Would you write this down? 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:26.559 This is from Elizabeth Elliot. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:30.960 She said these words, in acceptance, there is peace. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:33.519 In acceptance, there is peace. 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:36.400 Don't strive against God. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:38.400 Don't argue with him. 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:41.440 Don't fight against him. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:46.000 Your trial might be Jesus in disguise. 00:22:47.119 --> 00:23:12.160 Even some of the demonic warfare that we are involved in, and I believe in spiritual warfare, the fact is this that if all that we see is the devil, if we don't see that beyond the devil, behind the devil, there is also Jesus and God teaching us as a result of our failures and our struggles, if all that we see is the wind, let me put it this way. 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:21.839 The wind that brought them the storm is the same wind that brought them Jesus. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:28.880 So sometimes we have to look all the time, really, beyond our storms, and we have to see Jesus. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:34.240 It may be him trying to put his arms around us. 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:38.720 And our trials might be the way in which he is doing that. 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:44.480 And if all that you see is the wind, it's very, very distressing. 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:49.440 Our fears might be Jesus in disguise. 00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:52.319 Well, let's hurry on to number six. 00:23:53.440 --> 00:24:00.000 The water that threatens to be over your head is actually under his feet. 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:07.279 The water that threatens to be over your head is actually water that is under his feet. 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:21.039 You'll notice that the disciples, of course, are fearful because of the fact that the wind is blowing their boat, but Jesus is walking across the sea as if it is a marble floor. 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:23.359 He walks with confidence. 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:26.720 He does not struggle. 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:30.400 He does not walk wobbly like I do. 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:34.720 As I told you, I'm going to need some help going down the stairs. 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:36.240 He doesn't do that. 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:38.000 He walks with absolute confidence. 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:40.319 He is the creator of the winds, the waves. 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:41.279 Walks. 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:43.519 What is it that you fear today? 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:50.240 The water that threatens to be over your head, your difficulty, is under the feet of a sovereign Jesus. 00:24:51.359 --> 00:25:00.400 The Apostle Paul said in the book of Ephesians that Jesus is above every principality and every power and every name that is named, both in this world and in the world to come. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:13.279 And so I want you to visualize for a moment your situation, your storm, possibly a divorce, possibly a wayward child, injustice. 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:19.279 I want you to see that Jesus walks confidently above that. 00:25:20.079 --> 00:25:35.839 And that there is no storm happening in your life, but that Jesus is sovereign ultimately over the storm, even though there may be intermediate kinds of situations brought on by people, brought on by circumstances. 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:45.279 Jesus is above that, and he walks over the water with confidence. 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:49.519 We must see him today as the one who reigns. 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:54.880 Now, he doesn't reign directly as he will during the Millennial Kingdom, but he still reigns. 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:58.960 There's nothing, you know, I wrote a book, I don't know if it's here or not. 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:01.759 It's entitled now God's Devil. 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:06.640 And I wrote it because that quote actually is attributed to Martin Luther. 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:09.039 Even the devil is God's devil. 00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:13.359 The devil cannot wiggle unless God gives him permission. 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:17.920 Sovereignty of Christ over our storms. 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:26.240 Well, we're coming to number seven now, and I'm reading the text, and number seven is our ability to walk. 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:32.000 Our ability to walk depends upon the focus of our eyes. 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:36.720 Our ability to walk depends on the focus of our eyes. 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:42.400 Verse 28, and Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:44.160 He said, Come. 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:49.279 So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:52.319 But when he saw the wind. 00:26:53.680 --> 00:26:55.519 Let's not hurry over that. 00:26:56.079 --> 00:27:04.319 If you're in the habit of underlining your Bibles, you might want to underline that phrase, seeing the wind when he saw the wind. 00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:09.200 And don't you and I always see the wind? 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:14.319 Sometimes the wind seems clearer to us than Jesus. 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:17.119 When he saw the wind, he was afraid. 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:19.759 In beginning, he sank, he cried out. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:23.279 Now I have to tell you, Pastor Jesse isn't here. 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:34.240 I, as a pastor, have preached, and I have oftentimes led the congregation in long prayers, and I'm sure he has too. 00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:41.039 But you know, when you're going under, you don't have time for a real long prayer. 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:46.720 Sometimes there's only time for three words. 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:50.160 Lord, save me. 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:57.839 And immediately Jesus reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying, Oh, you have little faith, why did you doubt? 00:27:58.000 --> 00:27:58.880 Now, here's the thing. 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:03.920 If you're underlining your Bibles, isn't it amazing how Jesus is the immediate Jesus? 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:08.480 In verse 22, immediately he made the disciples get into the boat. 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:14.319 Verse 27, immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid. 00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:20.720 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, Oh, you have little faith, why did you doubt? 00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:22.640 Now here's the thing. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:28.000 We as pastors, I've done it too, sometimes we criticize Peter. 00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:35.279 We say, you know, if Peter had just kept his eyes on Jesus, he could have walked all the way to the other side of the lake. 00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:37.599 And of course that's true. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:43.440 But we should give Peter credit for being willing to get out of the boat. 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:49.839 There are tons of people who have not failed at anything because they don't do anything. 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:58.480 They've never gotten out of the boat, they've never taken any reasonable risk, they've always played it so safe that they cannot fail. 00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:09.039 If I might put it to you very clearly and hopefully concisely, a wet Peter is better than a dry Thomas. 00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:14.960 Peter was willing to get out of the boat and go to Jesus. 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:21.839 And as long as he was looking at Jesus and not distracted by the wind and talk about distractions. 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:32.559 In my book that God wants you to have that I mentioned earlier, I have a whole chapter on technology and all of its dangers and distractions. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:35.359 And we live at a time when everybody's distracted. 00:29:35.519 --> 00:29:37.680 I mean, I have my cell phone here this morning. 00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:44.720 I left it on the chair so that I can't, this is a joke, of course, so that I can't read my text while I'm preaching. 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:49.119 The simple fact is that we're all distracted. 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:54.079 And Peter was distracted by the winds, but as long as he looked at Jesus, he was able to walk. 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:56.000 Now I have a question for you today. 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:58.319 What was Peter's greatest problem? 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:00.400 Was it the depth of the water? 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:02.400 Was it the speed of the wind? 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:03.279 No. 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:07.839 His greatest problem was lack of faith. 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:12.000 Oh, you of little faith. 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:19.759 And your biggest problem when we go through a storm, and my biggest, and I've had my share of storms, is always this. 00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:22.480 Oh, you of little faith. 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:26.079 You believe that Jesus isn't walking with you? 00:30:26.319 --> 00:30:31.200 If you keep your eyes on Jesus, and how do we keep him on Jesus before Mark died? 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:34.480 He showed me 120 promises, laminated. 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:41.680 He said, Whenever I'm filled with fear, I go to the promises of God, and I see it there. 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:48.720 By the way, I was going to mention when I was talking about the fact that Jesus comes to us in disguise. 00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:54.960 A number of years ago, I read an article by a mother who had a 13-year-old child. 00:30:55.119 --> 00:31:02.720 Now, this child was born with a limitation, a special needs child. 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:10.640 When that child was born, the couple was so angry because, you know, other people, it's embarrassing. 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:12.319 Other people have healthy children. 00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:13.680 Why did God give us this? 00:31:13.920 --> 00:31:14.880 All those things. 00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:21.279 But now, 13 years later, she saw that Jesus was coming to her in that storm. 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:26.640 She said that this child revealed to them their selfishness, their need. 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:30.000 And this was a tremendous gift. 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:34.720 And it doesn't appear at times that Jesus is coming to us. 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:37.519 We see the wind, we see the storm. 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:42.720 But in the storms, we have to see Jesus. 00:31:44.079 --> 00:31:46.960 Tony Evans is a great African-American preacher. 00:31:47.039 --> 00:32:00.319 He's a friend of mine, and he tells this story, which I verified with him, that he and Lois were on a boat, on a ship, on a cruise, and it came over the intercom that what you need to do is to buckle up because we're going to hit a storm. 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:01.519 We're going through a storm. 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:05.920 And so his wife, Lois, didn't like that, so she tried to call the captain. 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:09.839 And she said, Why are we going through the storm? 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:16.400 Why don't we just put down anchor and then after the storm was over, proceed? 00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:18.240 She didn't actually speak to the captain. 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:19.759 She spoke to an assistant. 00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:22.480 He said, I'll talk to the captain and get back to you. 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:28.160 A few moments later he called back and said, I spoke to the captain, and he has two things to say to you. 00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:38.160 First of all, and I'm sure it was said very kindly, uh, tell her that she's not in charge, I am. 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:41.119 And then he said this. 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:45.039 And here's another thing for you to write down. 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:50.079 Tell her, I want you to remember this on your deathbed. 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:58.960 Tell her that this ship was built with this storm in mind. 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:14.559 And when you trust Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, who rose again and ascended into heaven, you're trusting a captain, and he had your storm in mind, and he can take you all the way to the other side of the lake. 00:33:14.799 --> 00:33:15.519 It's amazing. 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:23.039 I preached on this text for quite a while, and until recently, I hadn't really read the next verse. 00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:30.720 It says, when they got into the boat, he gets into the boat and he goes with the disciples all the way to the other side of the lake. 00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:32.480 He's with them. 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:39.920 You know, Jesus could have stayed on the shore and simply said, Peace be still, and everything would have been calm. 00:33:40.079 --> 00:33:42.079 He did that in other contexts. 00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:45.119 Peace be still, it would have been calm. 00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:50.160 But he comes to us in our storms. 00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:56.559 And I know that Jesus is in heaven bodily, but remember, he said, I'm with you till the end of the age. 00:33:56.880 --> 00:33:59.599 He actually comes to our boat. 00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:01.279 He comes to your home. 00:34:01.519 --> 00:34:03.279 He comes to your situation. 00:34:04.160 --> 00:34:09.039 And he says, I am here to carry you all the way to the other side of the lake. 00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:19.440 Now there are some people who will never, never, never yield to Jesus until their little boat is smashed all along the shore. 00:34:19.599 --> 00:34:22.559 And then they say, Whoo, I need a captain. 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:26.079 And there may be somebody here just like that. 00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:36.880 You're going to go from pillar to post, from one rock to another, and you're going to destroy your little boat, and it's going to be shattered, and finally you say, you know, I really think I need a Savior. 00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:39.039 Why wait till then? 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:52.079 I'm going to do something I frequently do, usually with a different message rather than this one, but I want us to give God our storms at this time. 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:53.599 What are your storms? 00:34:53.760 --> 00:34:55.199