WEBVTT 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:08.960 This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:13.919 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:15.919 Amen. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:16.800 Let's pray together. 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:18.800 Father, we uh that's our prayer. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:20.399 We sing that great hymn as a prayer. 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:28.480 Seal our hearts up, Lord, uh, lest that uh too much uh uh of this world gets into them and we get kind of turned away. 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:30.800 You warned your people all through the Old Testament. 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:36.799 Do not intermarry with those people, do not bow down to that God because they'll turn your heart away from me. 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:44.399 And so, Lord, we have to come back and we have to take authority over our heart, over our affections, uh, because they'll get away from us. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:56.960 And so, Lord, we turn our heart to you, and we say, Lord, bind our wandering heart to you, because there's nobody that's truer than you, there's no God besides you, and there's nobody that's gonna be better to us than you are, Lord. 00:00:57.039 --> 00:00:59.920 It's like Peter said, where else are we gonna go for the words of life? 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:02.000 We don't have a plan B, Jesus. 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:04.719 We confess that we are all in on you. 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:09.359 Our hope is in you, our belief is in you, and our worship is for you. 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:12.480 And so we give it to you today in spirit and in truth. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:15.920 And the Bible tells us those are the kind of worshipers that you're looking for. 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:18.719 So find us here in this place this morning. 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:28.000 And now, Lord, that you found us, say something to us today that has our name on it, that engages our head and stirs our heart and finds expression in our hands. 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:28.560 We pray. 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:30.079 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:31.920 And everyone said, Amen. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:33.359 You can have a seat if you've got a Bible. 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:35.920 I invite you to take it open up to John chapter 6. 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:37.280 John chapter 6. 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:42.480 I want to talk to you this morning about the shapy nature of storms, the shapy nature of storms. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:46.480 And we're gonna read a familiar story to some of you out of the Bible. 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:54.879 Uh, but but while you're finding John chapter 6, verse 16, let me say this, because I don't want this to be foreboding and heavy, or say the shapy nature of storms. 00:01:55.040 --> 00:02:06.640 Uh, this is the story of the Bible where Jesus walks on water, uh, and the disciples are in a boat and they all get freaked out because the storm comes, it's at night, and the wind's blowing, the waves are going crazy, and they are so afraid. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:16.639 The word the Bible uses to describe how they felt this phobeo, and it means this, it's where we get our English word phobia, and it means to be so terrified that you want to run away. 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:19.599 To be so terrified that you want to run away. 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:21.759 But let me just caution you about this, okay? 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:25.360 Because preachers do this all the time, and I just think, don't do that. 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:26.240 And here's why. 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:26.960 It's not true. 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:28.000 Here's what preachers do. 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:30.479 They say, now, I know this about everybody in this room. 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:35.039 You're either going into a storm, you're in a storm, or you're headed into a storm. 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:35.759 Look at me. 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:36.960 That's not true. 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:37.919 That's not true. 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:39.199 Here's why that's not true. 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:42.479 Because if that's true, then I here's my question. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:46.240 How do you behave when it's not when it's going really good? 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:48.719 When it's going great, you feel guilty. 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:51.039 You're just like, oh man, I should be doing something wrong. 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:53.840 Like I called a friend of mine a couple weeks ago, said, How's it going? 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:55.520 He goes, Man, I just got my bonus. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:57.439 It was way into six figures. 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:00.400 My wife and I are gonna take three weeks off and travel the world. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:02.960 And I thought, you made a deal with the devil. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:08.719 He said, he went on to tell me, Neil, it's going so good, we decided we're gonna take two vacations. 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:16.000 After this three-week break, we're gonna go to the Virgin Islands, we're gonna drink good wine, and we're gonna eat out and sleep in and read books on the beach and get a tan. 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:18.080 Shut up. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:23.919 I was like, as I'm sitting in my office down here drinking my coffee, this is really good, yeah. 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:27.759 I could smell the suntan lotion through the phone. 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:29.840 And and landed, my friend, here's right. 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:30.639 Amen is right. 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:31.680 Because see, here's the thing. 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:37.680 If you have the storm mentality that life's hard, it's always gonna be hard, you have no theology of joy. 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:39.599 When it got good, you'd feel guilty. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.879 You wouldn't, you couldn't even enjoy if God gave you a six-figure bonus. 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:47.280 I hung up the phone that day and I said, Lord, you lay that on me and I'll I'll enjoy it. 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:49.280 Absinkin lutely. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:51.120 I was so excited for him. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:52.479 I didn't try to make him feel guilty. 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:54.560 Then he said to me on the phone, he goes, Hey, we're getting off. 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:55.759 He goes, hey, hey Neil. 00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:56.240 I said, What? 00:03:56.400 --> 00:03:57.039 He goes, Thank you. 00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:57.680 I said, for what? 00:03:57.840 --> 00:03:59.439 He goes, thanks for not asking me. 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:01.599 Am I gonna go to church while I'm in the Virgin Islands? 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:03.759 I went, I don't go to church on vacation. 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:05.120 He's like, Really? 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:05.840 I said, no. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:08.159 Jesus says, Hey buckaroo, you've done enough. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:09.039 Sleep in. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:12.240 And he said, Man, thank you so much. 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:14.240 So, hey, storms are gonna come. 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:16.720 Life is not one big storm, okay? 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:19.759 And be careful of it, because the church teaches that mentality. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:21.759 It teaches you, hey, it's hard. 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:24.240 And if it's not hard, you're probably not living right. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:25.040 That's not true. 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:31.040 Matter of fact, sometimes because you are living right, God's gonna bless you, and it's gonna be better than you could ever imagine. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:34.399 And you should just look at your wife and kind of go, can you believe this? 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:37.680 But the storm's gonna come. 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:46.160 And so when it does come, you need to know, you need to understand the shaping nature of storms and how God uses that in our life, how God comes to us in the midst of that. 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:51.920 And if you don't train your eye and dial in your ear, you won't hear and see God when he comes. 00:04:52.079 --> 00:05:00.319 The Bible says it like this in John chapter 6, verse 16 when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started to cross the sea to Capernaum. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:02.959 It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:06.000 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:11.759 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:14.560 But he said to them, It is I, do not be afraid. 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:19.759 And then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at land to which they were going. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.160 There's four four four words to describe what we see in the text this morning. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:25.199 Let me give you the first one. 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:27.199 It's simply this expectation. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:28.160 Expectation. 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:30.639 Now I've said this before, but it bears repeating. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:34.000 Everything in the Bible happens in a specific context. 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:43.439 You cannot take things out of the context in which they happened because you don't understand the flow of thought, the surrounding circumstances, and uh the that that were happening. 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:51.120 And that's where the good stuff is often found when you read the Bible to kind of see the big picture, like the macro, not just the micro. 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:54.240 So when I say expectation, well, what what do you mean? 00:05:54.560 --> 00:06:01.360 It says in verse 16, then evening came, his disciples went down to the sea and got into the boat and started across the sea to Capernaum. 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:06.720 Uh now, what what I mean by expectation is that they didn't leave without Jesus' full knowledge. 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:14.000 Matter of fact, this same story is told in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Mark, and in both of those accounts, they go into much greater detail. 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:15.600 John is very brief. 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:18.160 John's kind of 40,000-foot view. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:20.160 Matthew is about 400-foot view. 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:24.480 He gives a lot of more details of Peter getting out of the boat and walking towards Jesus. 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:35.680 But in this, in this text we're in this morning, when I say expectation, what I mean is they leave because Jesus, remember the context, he just fed 5,000, and the people wanted to make him king by force. 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:37.519 And Jesus says, I'm not into that. 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:38.560 I don't want to do that. 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:41.439 And so he he goes off by himself up on a mountainside. 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:46.800 He tells the disciples, matter of fact, in Mark's telling this story, he tells the disciples, get in the boat and go home. 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:47.920 I'll catch up with you. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:50.480 Uh that's the inference that I'll catch up with you part. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:55.839 So their expectation is their rowing is Jesus is gonna come in any moment now, okay? 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.680 And so, by the way, uh they don't leave without his knowledge. 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:04.160 And here's the second part of this nothing happens out on the sea without his knowledge. 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:06.879 And so I say that to ask you this question. 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:12.079 Do you ever wonder if God sends you and I into the storms to grow our faith and see how we'll respond? 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:14.720 Let me say that again. 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:15.519 You ever wonder? 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:22.560 Because I'm telling you this morning, sometimes God sends you into the storm just to grow your faith and to see how you're going to respond. 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:24.720 Not his punishment, but his preparation. 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:25.920 Well, preparation for what? 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:27.680 For the next storm, whenever that comes. 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.639 Two years from now, three years from now, two months from now. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:32.240 It's not always stormy weather. 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:34.959 It's not always hurricane weather, Eeyore. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.199 Remember Eeyore? 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:40.000 Some of you got friends that are like, Eeyore, how's it going? 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:40.720 Horrible. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:41.600 Horrible. 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:46.399 I mean, I'm two months behind, I'm a mortgage, and my wife's just, I mean, she's not enjoyable. 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:48.079 My kids are off the reservation. 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:50.800 I hate my job, my truck's breaking down. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:51.759 How are you doing? 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:54.000 Never mind, it doesn't matter. 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:57.759 Listen, you no one wants to be friends with Eeyore. 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:02.000 And by the way, if you're in the room today and you're Eeyore, you need to check yourself. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:06.240 Because you're also probably pretty friendless because that overwhelms people. 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:09.040 It's just like, come on, dude, what is going on? 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:10.560 So they had this expectation. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:12.319 By the way, let me ask you a question. 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:15.120 They're out there, they've been rowing, by the way, for six or seven hours. 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:16.319 They left about dusk. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:19.839 And so they've been rowing six or seven hours, they've gone three or four miles. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:27.839 I'm not the, I mean, I'm I don't row a whole lot, uh uh, but I think if you gave me six or seven hours, I could go further than three or four miles. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.879 But the wind is incredible and the waves are beating against them. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:35.600 I mean, if we had George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg, we could make a movie out of this, okay? 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:38.240 And so it's like that, it's just overwhelming. 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:46.559 And they're just, eh, and I'm I'm sure you're probably not this way, but if I'm in that boat, I'm thinking all kinds of thoughts about Jesus, and not many of them are good. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:48.399 I'm thinking thoughts like this. 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:56.080 He just fed 5,000 men, and not to mention the women and children, because many 15,000 strangers. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:59.120 I'm one of the 12 who have banked my life on him. 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:02.559 I'm one of his inner circle, and we're out here about to drown. 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:04.720 You'd think he would care about us. 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:06.559 Ask yourself this question. 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:10.799 In the midst of the storm, what are you most tempted to accuse Jesus of? 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:18.720 In the midst of the storm, I mean when it's both hell and high water, what are you most tempted to accuse Jesus of? 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:20.879 You see, because there's expectation. 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:25.200 Accusation grows out of unmet expectation. 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:29.279 Here's the second thing you see in the Bible in this passage is just the storm itself. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:32.080 Notice verse 17 and 18, you get the mood of the text. 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:33.600 This is how John describes it. 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:34.960 It was now dark. 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:37.120 Jesus had not yet come to them. 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:41.279 The sea became rough and a strong wind was blowing. 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:43.039 It was now dark. 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:46.159 Something about dark changes everything. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:49.679 That's why when you were a little kid, your mom and dad told you, be home by dark. 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:51.360 They don't want you out after dark. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:52.320 It was now dark. 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:54.080 Jesus had not yet come to them. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.840 The sea became rough and a strong wind was blowing. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:02.639 Now, many of you have had days like this, but it wasn't out at sea with 11 other men or women in a boat. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:11.360 For some of you, it was at work when your boss called you in and said, Hey, uh, we've been talking, we've been running the numbers, and we're gonna have to lay off six more people. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:15.759 And you get to tell the six people that you're friends with that they no longer have a job. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:18.320 And you're like, Oh man, I don't want to do this. 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:22.159 And then for some of you, you got called in as I had dinner with a friend of mine. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:26.720 He was in town visiting this past week from Dallas, and he texted me and said, Hey, you available for dinner? 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:28.399 I'm in town for like a day and a half. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:32.159 And something in me just kind of said, You need to make time for that. 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:36.799 And we did, and we did about 10 minutes of chit-chat small talk, and then I said, Hey, what's going on? 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:39.519 He said, Well, I might as well tell you, I lost my job. 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:45.200 And I'm like, he's like way up in the company, and I was like, Whoa! And he said, Yeah. 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:53.279 And it was a great conversation because we started talking about what this stirs up in us as men when we don't have the capacity to provide for our families. 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:55.600 And I was like, wow, I thought about this passage. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:11:03.360 And I didn't preach this summer to him sitting at Willie's up here on Highway 6, but I just thought, man, this is exactly what the Bible talks about. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:04.559 We've had days like that. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:13.600 For some of you, ladies, this when you were in the shower when no one can see you cry, and you cried hot tears of remorse about your marriage, and you thought, this ain't never gonna get better. 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:15.440 It ain't never gonna get better. 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:19.440 Some of you had this thought when you thought, you know what, I'm 26, I'm never gonna get married. 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:20.720 What's wrong with me? 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:23.120 The storm is going to come. 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:34.399 The important thing I want you to see this morning is to remember uh back in the previous uh uh passage before, feeding the 5,000, the people wanted to come make Jesus king by force. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:35.519 He wouldn't have that. 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:41.039 But all of a sudden, in the midst of the storm, he comes to them on his terms in his own way. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:45.279 Now, when it's really, really hard, uh, I am not a good counselor. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:49.759 I do not someone said to me here, they said, Man, you've been sitting a lot of people for counseling the past couple of weeks. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:51.679 And I said, Yeah, I don't know why they come. 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:52.879 I'm not good at this. 00:11:53.039 --> 00:12:01.279 Uh, here's one of the reasons I'm not good at this, because people will come to me and tell me, oh man, this is happening and this is happening, and this is happening, and this is happening, and it is overwhelming. 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:12.480 And then because I love them, but also I believe the gospel, I say to this person, hey, in the midst of all this, and I'm sorry this is happening, how do you see God coming at you to help you in this? 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:13.919 How do you see God at work? 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:14.639 And you know what? 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:16.240 They always have an answer. 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:18.639 No one ever says, Ah, I got nothing. 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:21.039 Matter of fact, I don't even believe in God anymore. 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:29.840 I mean, people are like, hey, I buried my dad, my mom's in hospice, my kids in drug rehab, I don't know what I'm gonna do. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:32.480 I'm quitting my job because I don't want to work here anymore. 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:33.440 But you know what? 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:35.679 God's faithful, and I see him working. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:42.080 And here's one of the ways my relationship with my daughter is getting better while my son's getting off the reservation, and I'm like, wow. 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:48.480 See, you gotta train your eye and you gotta train, condition your ear to see and hear how God's at work. 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:54.720 Otherwise, when you get in the storm, you're gonna get overwhelmed and you're gonna become convinced of this one fatal fact. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:57.039 Hey, this all is up to me. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:58.720 I gotta do something about this. 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:00.639 And that's when you get ruthless. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:02.960 When you get in the storm, you're tempted to two things. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:09.919 Number one is fear, number two is ruthlessness, or you just are like, hey, at all costs, I'm gonna get out of this. 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:13.600 I'm uh I'm I'm gonna come up with a solution that's gonna make this work. 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:23.039 Matter of fact, you should ask yourself, now by the way, when I say that Jesus comes to them uh in the midst of the storm and he comes to us, don't miss this. 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:26.799 One of the things about Jesus coming to them is that he knows where they are. 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:29.519 He said, What do you mean? 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:30.399 Look at me. 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:32.080 You may be in the storm right now. 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:33.759 I want you to know he knows where you are. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:35.200 You're not out there alone. 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:36.960 And he knows what you're feeling. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:38.000 He said, What do you mean? 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:40.799 They never notice in the text, they never called out to Jesus. 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:44.559 Hey, Jesus, it's us, and we're pretty freaked out. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:48.480 No, no, he knew how they were feeling. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:55.200 So if you're in the storm today or the next time you get into a storm, remember this He knows where you are and He knows what you're feeling. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:58.080 So you don't have to reach for the pill to take the edge off. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:13:59.360 I don't know about you. 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:02.159 I've got friends that really are sinners and struggle sometimes. 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:04.799 I have a friend that she she calls it her mushroom. 00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:05.440 I have a friend. 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:07.440 She says, Oh, well, this is my little helper. 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:09.840 And it's a bottle of pills called Xanax. 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:11.919 And every once in a while she'll say, You know what? 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:13.679 I just need to take one or two. 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:15.120 I'm like, how many of you taken today? 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:17.120 And she goes, Well, I don't want to, I don't want to admit to that. 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:23.039 And I'm like, Well, how about let me hold the little helper for a little bit and we learn not to rely on that and to rely on God? 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:27.200 And she's like, Well, sometimes this is like God to me. 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:31.840 Now, on some level, some of you hear that and you're like, that's messed up. 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:33.360 That's honesty. 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:34.720 That's honesty. 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:41.120 And I say, hey, because I want to incarnate the gospel, you think God could be more consistent than Xanax in your life? 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:42.480 I don't know. 00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:44.159 This makes me feel pretty good. 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:47.200 And I'm like, okay, we'll we'll we'll start there. 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:48.480 Here's my point. 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:51.679 You you have to understand how he comes at us. 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.120 You gotta understand he knows where I am and what I'm feeling. 00:14:55.279 --> 00:15:00.320 Ask yourself this question: Has your response to difficult times changed the longer you've been a Christian? 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:06.320 Has your response to difficult times changed, gotten different the longer you've been a Christian? 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:12.720 Because if you and I still respond the same way to every storm of life that we did when we first became a Christian, something's wrong, beloved. 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:14.480 You're not growing spiritually. 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:17.919 You ought to have a different kind of response to these kind of things. 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:19.600 Here's the third thing we see in the text. 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:20.480 We see fear. 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:22.879 We see expectation, we see a storm. 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:24.240 Thirdly, we see fear. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:25.279 Look at verse 19. 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:29.120 I want you to understand, because I say fear, you may just think, oh, well, they're afraid. 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:35.919 The Bible says when they rode about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, but they were frightened. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:37.279 That's that word phobia. 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:41.440 And it means this it means to put to flight by terrifying. 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:45.039 To put to flight by terrifying. 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:46.799 Now, fear does two things to us. 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:49.440 Number one, it signals something beyond itself. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.720 Fear signals something to something beyond itself. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:55.759 In other words, it's what's called a secondary emotion like anger. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:16:00.879 If this is fear, there's something back here that's causing me to be fearful. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:02.720 And so it's the same way with anger. 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:04.879 If people say, well, I got an anger issue. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:05.679 No, you don't. 00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:09.279 Your real issue is what's what's behind your anger. 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:10.480 Same way with fear. 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:12.960 If there's fear, then there's something back here. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:17.120 And it's hard to get past the fear and get back here to what the real problem is. 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:18.720 So when I say fear does two things. 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:20.799 Number one, it signals something beyond itself. 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:24.080 Secondly, it turns all of our thoughts and our words inward. 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:27.840 It turns all of our thoughts and our words inward. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.720 And so we we have this fear, and we there's things in life. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:34.960 Matter of fact, if they could have gotten out of the boat, there'd have been 13 people walking on water that day. 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:41.120 Those cats would have jumped out because they were so terrified they wanted to get away from the circumstance and the situation. 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:47.519 Because we tend to move away from things that stir up fear in us when in reality, and hear this now, beloved, look at me. 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:52.080 When in reality you should stand still and then move towards your fears. 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:59.679 What we do is fear makes us want to get away from it, but in reality you should stand still and then move towards it. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:04.799 This is especially complicated for men because in our culture we're not allowed to be afraid. 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:11.599 And when we don't have freedom to discuss our fears, we opt for anger because it gives us the illusion of control. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:13.200 Let me say that again. 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:19.279 Now, in our culture, our culture, when's the last time, guys, you got together with some buddies and they said, Hey, how's it going, Billy Bob? 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:21.519 Well, I tell you what, I got some fear at work in my life. 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:22.960 Can we talk about that? 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:24.799 No. 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:25.759 No. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:30.559 We can send a message, hey, just just fake it till you make it, suck it up, figure it out. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:34.720 And so, what would the last thing we want to do is just be honest and say, you know what? 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:36.880 I'm I I got I got some fears. 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:39.759 I don't know where it's coming from, but I know it's very real. 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:47.359 So what we do is that we instead because we can't express fear, we choose anger because anger gives us the illusion of being in control. 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:54.640 And so, you show me a man that's always angry, I'll show you a man that's got some deep-seated fears he's never talked about. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:56.400 Fears like this. 00:17:56.799 --> 00:18:00.079 I'm not gonna be able to provide for my family the longer we go on. 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:02.799 Yeah. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:10.000 I have a friend that called me one time and he said, Hey, I'm reading the insurance policy, and I think these people would be better off if I wasn't around. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:12.160 And I said, back into the phone, where are you? 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:13.440 I'm coming your way right now. 00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:15.680 Well, if I don't want you to, I don't care. 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:22.559 I know where you live, I know where you work, I'm gonna track you down, I'm gonna call Dog the Bounty Hunter, he's gonna come with me. 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:25.440 And he said, Man, thanks. 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:26.799 I just I just hate to bother you. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:27.839 You're not bothering me. 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:29.039 You're not bothering me. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:31.200 That's fear at work in that man's life. 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:36.240 That's fear inviting him to believe a lie and then act in a way that's not true. 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:43.039 So you got a man that's always angry, that's a man that's got some deep-seated fears he's never got out on the table. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:48.640 When I said a minute ago, instead of running away, we should do two things we should stand still and move towards. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:49.519 Here's what I mean. 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:54.799 Standing still refers to the process of asking ourselves what I call digestive questions like this. 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:56.640 What am I feeling towards this? 00:18:57.839 --> 00:18:58.480 What is that? 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:00.880 What is this feeling based on? 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:04.720 Is the basis for this feeling real or imagined? 00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:12.400 Is it experience, uncertainty, lack of knowledge, or past experiences that's making me feel this? 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:16.079 Uh, this is what the Bible means when it tells us to take every thought captive. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:18.960 You don't just let your thoughts just overwhelm you. 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:20.640 You have to take those thoughts captive. 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:25.599 And then the Bible says, take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ Jesus. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:28.640 Your thoughts are not always obedient to the gospel. 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:32.880 You have to make those obedient to God and the gospel. 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:35.680 Uh, here's four questions that fear answers for us. 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:41.200 Here's one of the reasons I say stand still, because fear answers four questions for us. 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:42.720 What do I really want? 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:45.119 What do I really want? 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.319 Secondly, what's important to me? 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:52.000 Thirdly, what do I value? 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:54.799 And then lastly, what do I love? 00:19:55.359 --> 00:20:07.039 See, by standing still, and if we'll stand still long enough, and sometimes we need people to come alongside of us and say, stand with me, because I want to run from this, and I'm tired of running, I want to face this and get clarity around it. 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:09.759 The second step in the process is moving towards. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:17.440 And this is only after we've stood still long enough to get clarity around our fears, because then we can move forward in an informed manner. 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:22.880 Typically, in fear, we underrepresent ourselves and we overrepresent the situation. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:33.119 In fear, we underrepresent ourselves and we overrepresent the situation, and these two steps allow us to gain perspective on both of those things. 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:40.480 Now, speaking of perspective, remember I said a minute ago, everything in the Bible happens in a context, and so you got to see kind of the big picture all around it. 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:45.039 Now, right before this happens, Jesus tells him to get in a boat and go back across the sea. 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:46.559 He fed 5,000 people. 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:47.279 Remember that? 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:48.160 Hello? 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:49.119 Remember that? 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:50.559 Yes, thank you. 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:58.000 Uh so he feeds 5,000, and there were some leftovers left, and he told the disciples, hey, get pick these up and fill up these baskets. 00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:00.960 And they filled how many baskets full of leftovers? 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:02.079 12. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:05.279 Whatever happened to the 12 baskets of leftovers? 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:10.160 Hold your calls, we have a winner. 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:11.599 What am I saying? 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:18.240 Best we can tell, the disciples, the 12 disciples, each have a basket of leftovers. 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:25.440 Just this tangible fish and bread reminder of the powerful capacity of God, and yet they freak out anyway. 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:32.640 Here's the question I want you to ask yourself, and it's simply this how do you remind yourself of God's faithfulness towards you and your family? 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:36.559 How do you remind yourself of God's faithfulness towards you and your family? 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:38.960 My wife and I have a friend, we were just kind of talking. 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:45.759 I don't know what it's like at your house, but when I go home, I'm expected to be able to recount every interaction I had that day to my wife. 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:50.880 Uh and I'm just like, uh, and she's like, I know you can't tell me about counseling, but tell me about your day. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:53.279 And I'll go blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:54.640 And she'll go, that's it? 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:55.920 Yeah, that was it. 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:57.200 God loves our mortgage. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:58.960 I have a job, we'll be able to pay the mortgage. 00:21:59.039 --> 00:21:59.759 It was the anti club. 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:00.880 Today. 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:02.079 That's not that's not enough. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:09.839 She puts on this minor hat with a little light and a pickaxe, and she just digs around and asks me questions, and we'll go for a walk and she'll ask me more questions. 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:11.519 And then she goes, Well, you didn't tell me that. 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:13.119 Now, I don't understand the context. 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:16.319 Go back and start the beginning of your day, and I'm like, shut up. 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:19.599 It just comes in bits and pieces. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:21.519 Be glad to get that. 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:25.039 But we're talking the other day, and I said, Hey, I was talking to our friend. 00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:28.240 He's going, he's accepted a position at First Baptist Church of McKinney. 00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:31.680 And she went, First Baptist McKinney, why does that church strike us? 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:32.799 Why is that striking me? 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:33.599 Have we ever been there? 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:35.200 And I laughed and I said, Yeah. 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:41.119 Yeah, because that church is on the register of the ways God is got the ways God is related. 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:43.839 That's in our basket full of leftovers. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:50.799 You see, we were married in 1993, and I was traveling and preaching, and I was exhausted. 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:54.319 And I was going to preach at First Baptist McKinney Sunday through Wednesday. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:55.200 Great church. 00:22:55.359 --> 00:23:00.079 It's just, I was out of gas that whole week, and I was just like not looking forward to preaching. 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:02.720