This Is Significant

0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:04.480 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:06.960 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.000 --> 0:00:10.280 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:12.360 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:17.720 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. Well, 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:19.919 take a seat. We're so glad you're here today. We're 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:22.959 continuing in the series Savage Jesus from the Gospel of Mark. 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:28.000 Believe me when I say that, I never thought i'd say. 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:30.960 This is the tenth installment of this series. I usually 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:34.839 preach short and sweet, but I got in the Gospel 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.960 of Mark and then I couldn't get out. So today 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:40.360 we'll be in Mark chapter six. I want to introduce 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:44.120 my scripture by way of a story. When I wrote 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:47.080 my first book, I had the privilege to record the 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:52.120 audio book myself, and they sent a very professional recording 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:57.160 engineer from the publishing company to record the book. And 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:00.160 he would stop me and correct me if I'm made 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:04.800 any mistakes, if I got a little too southern. He 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:10.399 was a Northern Pharisee and he judged my accent and 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:12.240 he'd say it's a little twangie let's get it again, 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:14.400 or if I smacked my lips or mispronounced the word, 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:17.440 he'd back it up and make me catch it again. 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:21.840 And it was annoying, but I appreciated his professionalism. And 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:25.440 because the publisher was the largest publisher in the world. Now, 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:29.640 not the publisher that I wrote for. The publisher that 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:31.960 I wrote for was owned by a publisher who was 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.880 owned by a publisher that was the biggest publishing company 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:36.959 in the world. This guy worked for the big publisher 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:39.120 and because of it, he had worked with a lot 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:41.840 of big names. And this was my first book and 0:01:41.880 --> 0:01:44.800 my first time and I kept having to take breaks 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:47.520 and my mouth would get dry. And so during one 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:51.600 of those breaks, I realized that this guy had worked 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.680 with a lot of famous people, and I asked him 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.240 to tell me a story to entertain me during my break. 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:00.920 I said, tell me about somebody you worked with that 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:04.440 was difficult. And he told me a story about a 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.320 very well known political figure. I don't know if the 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:11.000 story is true, but why let the truth get in 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:13.880 the way of a good story. That's my motto. So 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:15.720 I'm gonna tell the story. I'm not gonna say the name, 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:19.360 but it was a famous political figure who was recording 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:24.200 his memoir about his life. That was after he had 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:29.400 served his term for eight years something like that in office. 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:32.080 Now I can tell who it was. But he said 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:35.560 that when they were recording the memoir, it was very long. 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:37.760 It was about a seven or eight hundred page book, 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:39.800 and it had to be an abridged version. And so 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:42.800 when they were recording the audiobook, they had to decide 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:46.840 which sections to leave and which sections to skip. And 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:49.960 at one particular point in the memoir, there was a 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:57.400 section about a scandal that happened in this particular notable 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:03.840 figure's life related to offices of oval nature and things 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:08.680 of this sort, that happened during his tenure in what 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:12.079 some call the highest office in the United States of America. 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:15.519 And when he was telling me about it, he said, 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:17.800 when they got to the part about the scandal, he 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:22.480 said that the person who wrote the memoir, the former president, 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:28.880 said this is falling apart. Said uh, he stopped, and 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:31.880 he was going to skip it, and he stopped the 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:41.880 recording and he said, I don't think people really, I 0:03:41.920 --> 0:03:45.240 think people are sick of hearing about this by now. 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:48.480 I think we can skip this part. I mean, do 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:53.480 you think this is really significant. And the audio engineer 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:58.240 said that it was a real challenge to look back 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:01.040 at somebody who had been the most powerful man in 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:03.400 the world at one point, and he said, I had 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:08.240 to look at him and say, yes, mister President, this 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:12.360 is significant. And that's my title for my message today. 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:14.480 Look at your neighbor and say, in your best Bill 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:19.640 Clinton voice, tell him this is significant. This is significant. 0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:26.360 Our scripture lesson for today comes from Mark chapter six, 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:30.280 something that marked the evangelist included in his gospel record 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:33.960 that he thought was significant for us to know about 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:41.360 the ministry of Jesus Christ. Mark six, verse forty five records. Immediately, 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:44.840 Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:49.080 on ahead of him to beth Sadom. He did not 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:52.520 tell them to pack ponchos. He did not give them 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:54.720 a warning about the storm that they would encounter, just 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:57.880 a simple instruction. I wonder if God doesn't tell us everything, 0:04:58.000 --> 0:05:04.680 because he knows we could not handle the details. So 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:07.960 he dismissed the crowd and sent the disciples to get 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:09.599 a head start. I'll meet you on the other side. 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:11.280 You're almost gonna die on the way. He didn't tell 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:16.000 him that, but after leaving them, he went up on 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.000 a mountain side to pray, and later that night the 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:19.520 boat was in the middle of the lake and he 0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:22.960 was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:27.440 the oars because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn, 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:31.120 he went out to them walking on the lake. He 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:33.560 was about to pass by them, but when they saw 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:37.960 him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost, 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:45.320 because God often looks like fear from a distance. They 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:48.440 cried out because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately, 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:51.960 Mark's favorite word. He spoke to them and said, take courage. 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:56.840 It is I. Don't be afraid. Then he climbed into 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:59.760 the boat with them and the wind died down. Day 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:04.080 were completely amazed. Touch the neighbor you've been ignoring and 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:13.880 say this is significant. So if you've ever been around 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:16.120 church at all, you've heard this Bible story. If you've 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:18.159 ever been anywhere near a church, you've heard about this 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:20.520 Bible story. If you ever happened to drive by a 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:22.600 church by accident, you heard this. If you ever played 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:26.120 on church softball team, you heard curse words and this 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:34.120 Bible story. It's a significant story because it teaches us 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:38.320 that Jesus Christ is lord of all creation. Theologically, he 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:43.719 is sovereign. He is sovereign. It's an epiphany story in 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:46.159 that it gives us a revelation of Jesus Christ that 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:49.719 is consistent with the revelation of Jesus Christ that was 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:53.200 given in the Old Testament in a concealed form, when 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:57.120 a bush burned and a man named Moses was meeting 0:06:57.200 --> 0:07:00.880 with God. The disclosure at that point was I am. 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:06.559 Moses said, who are you? God said, I am. Now. 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:10.840 It's interesting how God would spend the next several centuries 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.920 filling in that blank. That they would need to know 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.640 him to be water in a dry place, that they 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:19.760 would need to know him to be a warrior in 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:22.600 their battles. They would find all of this out, that 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:27.040 He is sustainer in their weariness. And really, the rest 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:29.680 of your life will be filling in that blank. And 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:31.600 just about the time you think you've got it figured 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:35.480 out who God is, life will so shift beneath your 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:38.720 feet that you will realize you didn't know him at all. 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:43.520 The disciples have been with Jesus now for quite an 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:49.160 extensive class. They've seen him touch lepers, they've seen him 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:53.520 heal paralytics. They've even seen him raise dead people in 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:57.920 certain situations, and yet there was something that amazed them 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:01.480 in this moment, something that they had not seen about 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:06.800 him before. It is significant that Jesus told them to 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:10.280 go forward and the wind was against them. That's significant, 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:13.840 significant because a lot of times I assumed in my 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:16.760 life that if God sent me to do something, the 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:21.440 wind would work with me. That's pretty much the premise 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:24.720 of early Christianity. You know, turn your life over to 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:28.720 God and he'll take your burdens away. Turn your life 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:32.280 over to the Lord, and you know, what used to 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:33.840 keep you up at night won't keep you up at 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:36.680 night anymore because it'll be replaced by other stuff that'll 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:39.680 keep you up at night. Fill in the blank. You 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:44.959 realize that a lot of times claims to faith are 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:49.480 actually our efforts to manipulate God, until we discover in 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:52.040 the course of time that just because the wind is 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:56.200 against you doesn't mean that God is not for you. 0:08:56.720 --> 0:08:59.880 Many times, the confirmation that God has spoken to you 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:03.480 is the fact that the wind is against you. We're 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:06.720 discovering this in our study of the Gospel of Mark. 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:11.800 We are learning that resistance is often the greatest place 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:15.760 for revelation. Would you please take that elevation pin that 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:19.040 cost about eleven or twelve cents, and before you steal 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:20.800 it from the church and use it to sina check 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:27.120 this week, write it down. Resistance leads to revelation. Resistance 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:32.920 leads to revelation. The wind was against the disciples not 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:37.040 because they disobeyed the words of Jesus, but because they 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:39.199 went in the direction of his command. He sent them 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:43.000 to beth Seda. They went to Bethseda. I got it 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:45.559 when it was Jonah, because the wind was against Jonah 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:48.280 because he wasn't going to Ninevah. He was going to Tarsish. 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:50.080 And God said, go to Ninevah. And when you go 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:52.280 to Tarsish, when you should go to Ninevah, expect the 0:09:52.280 --> 0:09:54.000 wind to be against you. Because God didn't send you 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:56.240 to Tarshish, He sent you to NINEVH. So I expect 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:57.959 the wind to go against me. When God told me 0:09:58.000 --> 0:09:59.680 to go to Ninevah and I went to Tarsish. But 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:00.839 when he tell me to go to Best, say that, 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:02.240 and I went to Best, sayda, I expect the wind 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:04.480 to work with me. I expect God to bless me 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:08.800 when I come to church. I expect good parking places 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:13.840 because I came to church. I expect those shoes to 0:10:13.880 --> 0:10:17.680 go on sale because I came to church. I expect 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:21.440 a promotion because I came to church. Makes me mad 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:24.160 when somebody who didn't come to church, they slept in 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:27.880 and they get a raise, and I get fired. And 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:30.680 I can't understand how God could be with me and 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:34.079 the wind could be against me. But often the confirmation 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:36.839 of the word of God is the resistance of the 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:39.560 enemy to show you you're on the right track. Here's 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:45.080 why I feel I preach it. Here's why I'm gonna 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:47.360 have somebody you want to turn around and go back 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:49.880 home because the wind is against you. The wind is 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:51.960 against you, so that you will know that it is 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:56.839 the Lord's presence with you that makes you successful. If 0:10:56.840 --> 0:10:58.920 the wind was working with you, you would think the 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:02.640 wind when you got to your destination. If it were easy, 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:06.160 you would think the wrong things. If the wind wasn't 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:08.680 against you, you wouldn't need the Lord to come and 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:11.800 step into the wind and speak peace to the wind. 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:15.199 So the wind has to be against you to prove 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.120 that the Lord is with you. Calm down, verdict. This 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:32.319 is just the introduction and so Jesus, savage Jesus, the 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:36.720 Jesus that's in the Bible, not the Jesus this on Pinterest, 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:44.320 Savage Jesus, real life Jesus, Monday morning Jesus. Yeah, Friday Jesus, 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:49.400 Saturday Jesus. Not the Jesus that is playing a harp 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:53.320 and stroking the wool of the lamb. But the Jesus 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:58.440 who sends his disciples into a storm and watches them strength. 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:01.160 I got to go. You don't believe this. You about 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:05.000 to be really jealous. I got to go and sit 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:10.240 on the mountain where Jesus prayed. And the man who 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:13.760 took us there last year, he knew everything about everything. 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:20.000 I think he was Jesus. He took us up there, 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:23.760 he said, here's where Jesus was praying in March chapter six. 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:28.120 And then he pointed to the lake that the Bible 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:32.080 mentions where the storm was, and from that mountain you 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:35.280 can see the whole lake. And he dropped this on 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.720 us right before he left us. He said, so the 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:43.880 whole time they were straining, Jesus could see them. And 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:47.240 he walked off and I cried, I have a picture 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:51.000 of me sitting on that mountain and there's Kleenex all 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:53.240 around me because Holly just kept handing them to me, 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:58.679 one after another, that he saw them in the storm, 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:01.240 that he saw them in the storm. And then I 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:03.760 was after I got done crying, because I realized he 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:06.760 sees me in my storm, and he knows what I'm 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:11.400 going through, and he knows what I deal with, and 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:15.640 he knows what people have done to me, and he 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:18.560 sees tears that I've cried on my pillow that nobody 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:20.880 else knows about him, that he sees what's going on 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:22.560 in my soul. That I can cover up in front 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:25.960 of people, but I can't hide from him. After I 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:28.000 got done crying about that, I got kind of angry 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:32.520 because I thought, if he could see them, why didn't 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:36.480 he stop it? All of a sudden, it felt kind 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:39.400 of cruel to me that he would send them into 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:43.200 a storm and see them in the storm and not 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:50.920 stop the storm. So I think it is significant that 0:13:51.000 --> 0:13:55.160 the Bible says that he saw the disciples verse forty eight, 0:13:56.080 --> 0:14:02.000 straining at the oars because the wind was again shortly 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:04.360 before dawn. He went out to them, this is forty 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:07.320 eight b walking on the lake. He was about to 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:11.880 pass them by I thought he would never leave me. 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:16.200 I thought he would never forsake me. I thought he 0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:20.280 promised his presence to me. And so he's about to 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:26.480 pass them by, and they were afraid. One interesting thing 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:29.560 about this particular record in Mark's Gospel is that it 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:33.480 was recounted by a man named Peter. Have you heard 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:41.200 of him. He was a very outspoken disciple of Jesus Christ. 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:43.760 He was the one, I don't know if you're like this. 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:48.560 He would say what everybody else thought he would. He 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:54.560 was filter free, and so when he was right, he 0:14:54.640 --> 0:14:59.840 was really right. When he was wrong, he was really wrong. 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.960 I prove it to you. He said, you are the Christ, 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:05.000 the son of the Living God. She said, you are 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:08.200 petross this rock. You're Peter, not Simon, not shifty upon 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:09.840 this rock. I'll build my church the rock of his 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:14.840 revelation of who Jesus was. A few verses later, Jesus said, 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.320 get behind me, Satan, and he was pointing at Peter, 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:20.520 because Peter said, you can't go to the cross. And 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:22.800 Peter opposed the very thing that Jesus came to do. 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:26.960 All in the same Bible chapter. This is Peter. Peter 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:30.320 is the one telling Mark about this story so Mark 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:35.320 can write it down. Peter is the one recording the audiobook. Okay, 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:39.640 Peter is the one giving Mark the gospel account. Mark 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:43.600 wasn't a disciple. Mark was an evangelist. He compiled the story, 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.720 and Peter told, look, I'm gonna sell you something. We 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:49.640 have four of these. We have four gospel accounts. The 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:52.120 gospel is the good News of Jesus Christ. When we 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:55.800 say the Gospel of Mark, it's the gospel according to Mark. 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:58.640 When we say the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of John, 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:01.720 the Gospel of Matthew, that's the gospel account that they 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:06.240 wrote down. John said that Jesus did so much. If 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:09.600 you wrote a whole book, if you tried to write 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:12.800 down everything he did, the whole world could not contain it. 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:16.480 If you wrote down all the works Jesus did, wikipedia 0:16:16.640 --> 0:16:22.200 would break. So they had to decide what was significant 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:26.880 enough to put in the gospel account that would prove 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:31.400 what they wanted to prove about who Jesus was. So 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:34.320 when Mark got ready to write, he said, Jesus walked 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:36.440 to the disciples in a storm, and when he got 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.320 in the boat, the winds died down. When Matthew got 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:43.360 ready to write it. He included something that Mark left out, 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:46.480 and I'm going to read you now from Matthew fourteen. 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:51.040 It's the same story, but there's one detail in this 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:55.880 story that is omitted in Mark's gospel, which is based 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:58.840 on the recollection of Peter, and it's in Matthew's gospel 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:00.480 but not Mark. So here's what will this will be 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:04.159 an interactive class. When I get to the part that 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:07.879 wasn't in Mark's gospel, stop me. When I get to 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.680 the part that where you're saying, wait, that wasn't in 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:12.280 the other one that you read before, I want you 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:14.760 to wave your hands and stop me. This is the 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:16.960 only time that you are allowed to tell me to 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:19.919 stop preaching. You can tell me to preach anytime you 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:23.080 want preach fast, But when I get to this part today, 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:25.000 I want you to stop me at every location. Let's 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:28.000 start in verse twenty two. Immediately Jesus made the disciples 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:29.679 get into the boat and go on ahead of him 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:32.040 to the other side while he dismissed the crowd. After 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:33.920 he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountain 0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:36.240 side by himself to pray. Later that night, he was 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:39.040 there alone and the boat was already a considerable distance 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:41.399 from land, buffeted by the ways because the wind was 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:43.240 against it. So far, so good, We're good. Keep on, 0:17:43.400 --> 0:17:46.480 keep on. Yeah, similar, very similar, very similar, few words, different, 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:49.360 same stuff. Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:50.919 walking on the lake, and when the disciples so I'm 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:52.720 walking on the lake. They were terrified. It's a ghost, 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:55.240 they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately 0:17:55.240 --> 0:17:57.760 said it didn't take courage it as I don't be afraid. Lord, 0:17:57.800 --> 0:18:05.679 if it's you, Peter replied to come. Okay, okay, okay, 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:13.680 what's wrong with you? Lord? If it's you, Peter replied, 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:17.600 tell me to come to you on the water. Come, 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:22.680 He said, this is this is amazing. Hey, hey, if 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:28.040 I was writing my memoir, I'll put this in because 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:29.760 what's what happens next. Then Peter got down out of 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:32.439 the boat, walked on water, and came toward Jesus. Well, 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:36.440 I'm totally putting that in. I'm totally including the part 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:39.840 where everybody else was in the boat crying out in fear, 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:44.080 and I was walking on water, transcending the laws of buoyancy. Mabe, 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:46.520 if I ever walk on water, and then I die 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:49.080 and they're writing a story about my life. You make 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:51.440 sure they don't take that part out. If I ever 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:54.560 walk on water, and I know I do metaphorically in 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:59.680 your heart, but if I ever physically, if they ever 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:01.720 write about me, I'm not saying they will, but if 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:05.560 they do, leave this in touch, somebody say this is significant. 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:11.560 So how can Peter? This is a good question. How 0:19:11.600 --> 0:19:16.440 can Peter walk on water? And when it comes time 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:20.439 to tell Mark what to write about this night on 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:27.320 the sea, tell Mark, you know, I think people probably 0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:34.080 just about sick of hearing about this. Do you really 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:38.240 think this is to your neighbors? Say yes, mister president, 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:49.399 this is significant. I wonder if I wonder if you 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:53.360 left it out because of verse thirty, I mean, because 0:19:53.440 --> 0:20:00.280 verse so far this is amazing. Peter. Peter's like, if 0:20:00.280 --> 0:20:02.840 it's you tell me to come. She's like, it's me come. 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:07.400 And you know the wind is blowing so you can't 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:10.440 hear that. Good. So Peter's like, did you hear it? 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:14.040 He said it is me come? And John. John's like, no, 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:17.560 he said, Peter, You're dumb, because I mean, two people 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:25.520 can hear the same thing. It's Yanny, not Laurel. But 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:34.680 by the way, it's Yanny. It's Yanny. It's Yanny. Come 0:20:34.720 --> 0:20:37.840 to the altar. It's Yanny. You need your ears open. 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:49.639 I lost half the church. You're the same word a 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:54.320 different way. And the other disciples were operating on what 0:20:54.480 --> 0:20:58.480 Jesus told them before they left, which is go go 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:01.360 to bed, say that I'll meet you on the other side. 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:05.520 Peter is operating out of what he feels in the moment, 0:21:05.600 --> 0:21:08.679 and he says to Jesus, if it's you tell me 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:13.040 to come. And I've often preached about Peter getting out 0:21:13.040 --> 0:21:18.119 of the boat, but sometimes the more significant faith is 0:21:18.160 --> 0:21:22.440 the willingness to stay in the storm, not the impulse 0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:26.600 to escape it. I'm not saying Peter was wrong. I'm 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:30.440 just saying that it takes faith to keep rowing when 0:21:30.520 --> 0:21:34.400 you can't see the shore. Sometimes it takes even more 0:21:34.480 --> 0:21:37.280 faith to stay in the boat than it does to 0:21:37.320 --> 0:21:41.000 step out of it. Peter gets to this part of 0:21:41.000 --> 0:21:45.440 the story in his recollection. He does not see fit 0:21:45.560 --> 0:21:48.960 to include the part of the story where he said 0:21:48.960 --> 0:21:52.560 to Jesus, if it's you tell me to come, And 0:21:52.640 --> 0:21:56.040 I wonder if it's because of what happened in verse 0:21:56.080 --> 0:21:59.320 thirty that he left this out of his gospel account 0:22:00.000 --> 0:22:03.800 because the Bible says that he took several steps towards Jesus, 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:07.399 and for a moment he was walking on the water, 0:22:08.000 --> 0:22:11.320 and for a moment he was experiencing a miracle. But 0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:15.720 Verse thirty says, when he saw the wind, see he 0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:20.520 heard the word. But then he saw the wind. And 0:22:20.560 --> 0:22:24.560 I relate to this because sometimes I pay more attention 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:29.879 to what I see than what God said. And anytime 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:33.639 I give more focus to what I see than what 0:22:33.840 --> 0:22:38.880 God spoke, I start to sink. Peter's doing pretty good 0:22:38.920 --> 0:22:41.359 as long as he's going off of what he heard, 0:22:41.400 --> 0:22:45.199 because faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:48.160 word of God, and all you need is one word 0:22:48.240 --> 0:22:52.479 from God. Peter wasn't walking on water. He was walking 0:22:52.520 --> 0:22:56.080 on a word. And when you have a word from God, 0:22:56.680 --> 0:22:59.879 your kids can be acting crazy, your money can be 0:23:00.160 --> 0:23:03.199 acting funny, you can be in the darkest night of 0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:14.320 your life. But declare He is Lord. And then he 0:23:14.359 --> 0:23:17.440 saw the wind, And the Bible says when he saw 0:23:17.480 --> 0:23:24.160 the wind, he began to sink, and he cried out, Lord, 0:23:24.240 --> 0:23:28.640 save me. And I thought, well, that's why Peter left 0:23:28.680 --> 0:23:35.520 it out, Because I think people don't really need to 0:23:35.560 --> 0:23:41.360 hear about this. We can leave that out, can't we. 0:23:44.760 --> 0:23:47.440 You know, you want to leave certain things out of 0:23:47.480 --> 0:23:56.000 your story, skip over certain parts and certain failures. And 0:23:56.280 --> 0:23:58.960 there's some stuff, honestly, that you don't need to share 0:23:58.960 --> 0:24:03.960 with everybody. There's some stuff that they don't even need 0:24:04.240 --> 0:24:07.199 to know about. Sometimes your greatest testimony is that you 0:24:07.240 --> 0:24:09.200 went through the fire, but you don't smell like smoke. 0:24:17.560 --> 0:24:22.719 And when Peter was telling Mark what to right, I 0:24:22.720 --> 0:24:28.359 imagine Mark saying, shouldn't I put that part in where 0:24:28.400 --> 0:24:33.119 you climbed out of the boat, And Mark said, I 0:24:34.240 --> 0:24:37.640 don't think. I don't think you want to leave that out. 0:24:37.720 --> 0:24:42.560 Peter said, no, no, it's been a while now, because 0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:45.040 this gospel has written decades after it happened, you know. 0:24:46.160 --> 0:24:50.040 And by this point Peter has discovered something verse fifty one. Mark, 0:24:50.080 --> 0:24:54.320 chapter six, Verse fifty one. Then he climbed into the 0:24:54.359 --> 0:25:02.440 boat with them, and the wind died down. Said it's 0:25:02.480 --> 0:25:06.960 not significant what happened when I climbed out of the boat. 0:25:08.359 --> 0:25:13.840 Let's read it again. Then Jesus climbed into the boat. 0:25:15.400 --> 0:25:17.680 Peter said, don't tell him what happened when I climbed out. 0:25:20.040 --> 0:25:25.840 Tell him what happened when he climbed in. That's so good. 0:25:25.880 --> 0:25:28.800 I want to sit down and then stand up and 0:25:28.880 --> 0:25:32.080 run a lap around this Balentine building all by myself. 0:25:33.160 --> 0:25:37.280 It's not important what happened when Peter climbed out. It's 0:25:37.320 --> 0:25:40.840 not important what happened when Peter stepped out. It's not 0:25:40.960 --> 0:25:44.520 important what happened when they were straining all night, All 0:25:44.640 --> 0:25:47.879 night long, they strained to get to Jesus. But the 0:25:47.920 --> 0:25:51.280 wind didn't stop while they were straining. The wind did 0:25:51.320 --> 0:25:55.159 not die down because Peter came to Jesus. The wind 0:25:55.320 --> 0:26:00.560 died down because Jesus came to Peter. And that's the gospel, 0:26:00.960 --> 0:26:04.159 Not that I came to God, not because I was 0:26:04.240 --> 0:26:08.359 so good, not because I was so glorious, not because 0:26:08.400 --> 0:26:12.119 I got my act together. No, I'm not praising him 0:26:12.240 --> 0:26:15.119 because I got out of the boat. I'm praising him 0:26:15.280 --> 0:26:20.720 because he got in and the wind died down. Now 0:26:20.760 --> 0:26:26.879 go ahead and worship him for eighteen seconds, not because 0:26:26.920 --> 0:26:39.760 I got up because he got in. Y whoa, WHOA. 0:26:40.480 --> 0:26:44.760 I find somebody saying that's is significant, not that I 0:26:44.800 --> 0:26:48.240 loved God, but that he loved me. And I'm in 0:26:48.280 --> 0:26:52.160 a storm right now. But the storm is not significant 0:26:52.520 --> 0:27:09.520 because help is on the way. It's the contrast of 0:27:09.680 --> 0:27:18.800 straining versus submission. And he was showing them to do 0:27:19.240 --> 0:27:26.119 what he commanded the wind to do. Submit, and they 0:27:27.040 --> 0:27:32.760 they were amazed at this. They were amazed. They were 0:27:32.800 --> 0:27:35.680 amazed that the wind did what he said. In fact, 0:27:36.800 --> 0:27:39.160 the wind did what he didn't even have to tell 0:27:39.160 --> 0:27:43.480 it to do. Let me appreach to LJ for a minute. 0:27:43.480 --> 0:27:45.240 He gets bored back here because he has to play 0:27:45.560 --> 0:27:47.000 three times on the weekend. And I just want to 0:27:47.000 --> 0:27:48.320 tell him this real QUI because I didn't mentioned in 0:27:48.359 --> 0:27:52.120 any other of the worst experiences. Last time Jesus calmed 0:27:52.119 --> 0:27:54.240 the storm, he said, peace be still. So he calmed 0:27:54.240 --> 0:27:57.520 the storm with his words this time. If you check 0:27:57.560 --> 0:28:00.200 the record, he didn't even say anything to the storm. 0:28:00.920 --> 0:28:03.480 The storm stopped just because he sat down in the 0:28:03.480 --> 0:28:07.000 boat with the disciples. That lets me know that all 0:28:07.119 --> 0:28:11.400 I need is his presence. All I need is his presence. 0:28:12.000 --> 0:28:14.600 I don't need proof that he is with me. When 0:28:14.640 --> 0:28:18.280 he got in the boat, the storm sat down. When 0:28:18.320 --> 0:28:22.520 he sat down. Why he is a puppet. He is 0:28:22.560 --> 0:28:25.840 the Lord, He is the great I am. He is 0:28:25.960 --> 0:28:38.400 the bread of life. And he sent them against the 0:28:38.440 --> 0:28:43.720 wind because he needed a situation to reveal his sufficiency. 0:28:44.560 --> 0:28:48.720 That's what he needed, and so the storm served that purpose, 0:28:49.760 --> 0:28:55.480 just like the hungry crowd. Just like the hungry crowd, 0:28:57.120 --> 0:28:59.720 because verse fifty two tells us why they were a 0:28:59.800 --> 0:29:04.640 me look at somebody said, this is significant. Come on, 0:29:04.640 --> 0:29:06.680 only about forty five percent of you did what I 0:29:06.720 --> 0:29:11.680 told you to do. Tell them this is significant. They 0:29:11.720 --> 0:29:15.680 were amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves. 0:29:16.480 --> 0:29:23.240 Their hearts were hardened. What does bread have to do 0:29:24.280 --> 0:29:30.200 with a boat. And this is where we need to 0:29:30.240 --> 0:29:36.080 mention a significant miracle. This miracle is so significant that Matthew, 0:29:36.160 --> 0:29:39.840 Mark Luke, and John all put it in their memoir 0:29:40.840 --> 0:29:46.479 their audio book. They put it in even though it 0:29:46.520 --> 0:29:51.200 wasn't a resurrection or a healing. One day Jesus fed 0:29:51.280 --> 0:29:56.800 five thousand men, the women, and the children, and he 0:29:56.840 --> 0:30:00.840 did it with a little boy's lunch. I personally think 0:30:01.360 --> 0:30:03.520 Peter beat up the little boy and took his lunch. 0:30:04.320 --> 0:30:07.880 Only reason why I have kids. I've never seen my 0:30:08.000 --> 0:30:11.760 kids voluntarily do anything sacrificial. So in my mind, the 0:30:11.800 --> 0:30:14.120 little boy did not willingly offer his lunch. But you 0:30:14.160 --> 0:30:15.680 read the Bible. How you want to read the Bible 0:30:15.720 --> 0:30:17.400 on your own time? Right now? I got the microphone. 0:30:17.400 --> 0:30:19.640 Peter beat up the boy, took his lunch, brought it 0:30:19.680 --> 0:30:29.600 to Jesus. This is significant. This miracle is so significant 0:30:31.560 --> 0:30:33.840 because Jesus, when he was feeding the crowd, he was 0:30:35.480 --> 0:30:40.400 revealing himself as the Christ, and everybody ate and they 0:30:40.440 --> 0:30:46.560 all got their fill that day pointed out real quick. 0:30:46.720 --> 0:30:48.360 While we have a moment because I don't know when 0:30:48.360 --> 0:30:49.680 I'll get to see you again, somebody, you don't come 0:30:49.680 --> 0:30:55.280 to church enough. Just while we're here. The miracle came 0:30:55.280 --> 0:30:58.720 from somebody who was not even included in the official count. 0:31:00.160 --> 0:31:06.040 It was five thousand men, women, and children. God's greatest 0:31:06.080 --> 0:31:12.240 miracles often come from what people consider insignificant sources. That's 0:31:12.280 --> 0:31:15.040 why you can't let the world ever define your significance, 0:31:15.080 --> 0:31:18.600 because the world celebrates all the wrong stuff, all the 0:31:18.640 --> 0:31:26.400 wrong stuff. We find significance in status. We find significance 0:31:26.600 --> 0:31:30.680 sometimes and we even call it our significant other. Okay, 0:31:31.200 --> 0:31:34.560 but this is an announcement. You don't need any other 0:31:35.360 --> 0:31:38.680 to be significant. I'm not against the term. I'm not 0:31:38.720 --> 0:31:40.880 against the term, but you don't have to be a 0:31:41.000 --> 0:31:47.200 duchess of Sussex to be significant, no, not to be 0:31:47.280 --> 0:31:51.320 significant in the eyes of God. If significance was predicated 0:31:51.360 --> 0:31:56.520 on marital status, Jesus was insignificant. He was never merit. 0:31:57.160 --> 0:32:00.880 Neither was Paul. But the world celebrates all the wrong stuff, 0:32:00.880 --> 0:32:04.560 and so we wait for it significance to be assigned 0:32:04.800 --> 0:32:09.920 by something outside of God. But I am not significant 0:32:09.960 --> 0:32:15.120 because somebody recognized me as significant. I am significant because 0:32:15.160 --> 0:32:19.000 of someone who died for me, who created me, and 0:32:19.040 --> 0:32:27.600 who lives in me. This is significant, real quick, real quick. 0:32:27.760 --> 0:32:30.440 I'm really proud of Elevation Worship. They got nominated for 0:32:30.520 --> 0:32:37.240 a Billboard Award Christian Album Christian song, Oh Come to 0:32:37.320 --> 0:32:41.320 the Altar, and I think that's really cool and I 0:32:41.320 --> 0:32:44.320 think it's wonderful, and I don't know if we'll win 0:32:44.360 --> 0:32:46.479 it or not. Somebody said we probably won't win it 0:32:46.480 --> 0:32:48.840 this year, and it's not a competition, but I'd love 0:32:48.880 --> 0:32:51.720 to beat Hillsong. Don't put this online, edit this out, 0:32:52.360 --> 0:32:55.320 and one day maybe we will. But I'm not waiting 0:32:55.360 --> 0:33:02.600 to see if we win the award. Why I saw 0:33:02.680 --> 0:33:06.080 Oh Come to the Altar when it was born. I 0:33:06.160 --> 0:33:08.800 remember when we wrote it and imagined our church singing 0:33:08.840 --> 0:33:11.560 it and then I saw the church start to sing it, 0:33:12.400 --> 0:33:15.520 and I saw people baptized while we were singing, Oh, 0:33:15.520 --> 0:33:19.240 come to the altar. I saw people baptized while we 0:33:19.320 --> 0:33:22.800 were singing The Father's arms are open wide. Forgiveness was 0:33:22.840 --> 0:33:26.120 bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. So I 0:33:26.160 --> 0:33:29.360 don't need Billboard to tell me what baptism already did. 0:33:31.640 --> 0:33:36.680 So if Chris Brown gets an award, that's wonderful. But 0:33:36.720 --> 0:33:41.000 if Billboard didn't recognize, Oh, come to the altar, touch 0:33:41.040 --> 0:33:45.480 somebody say, it's still significant. And if people appreciate me, 0:33:45.640 --> 0:33:51.120 that's wonderful. But if they never recognized me, I'm still significant. 0:33:51.160 --> 0:33:55.880 There's a word for somebody. If I got a date, great, 0:33:56.360 --> 0:34:00.920 If I don't, I'm still significant. If I get the job, wonderful. 0:34:01.240 --> 0:34:04.680 If I don't, I'm still significant. If you like me, 0:34:05.040 --> 0:34:16.520 good less hung it out, but it not, Pops. I'm 0:34:16.520 --> 0:34:24.560 almost stunned. This is significant. This is significant because I 0:34:24.600 --> 0:34:27.680 saw Chris Brown in a prison during Love Week. He 0:34:27.840 --> 0:34:34.799 wasn't a member, was there voluntarily for the record. He 0:34:34.880 --> 0:34:38.040 was singing, and he finished singing, and we were leaving. 0:34:38.040 --> 0:34:41.440 I preached, He's saying, and a prisoner came up to 0:34:41.440 --> 0:34:44.560 me and said, before you go, can you single come 0:34:44.560 --> 0:34:48.160 to the altar. That's the song that got me through. 0:34:51.000 --> 0:34:54.840 And I hope he can get a billboard. But I 0:34:54.880 --> 0:34:57.120 watched him single come to the Altar to one prisoner, 0:35:00.080 --> 0:35:14.319 and that was significant. This is significant this season. It's 0:35:14.320 --> 0:35:16.520 hard to see the significance of the season you're in. 0:35:16.560 --> 0:35:19.520 You see it better when you're out of it. That's 0:35:19.520 --> 0:35:24.120 why it's hard to raise kids. I love being a parent. 0:35:24.200 --> 0:35:26.480 I joke about it a lot. Is actually my favorite 0:35:26.480 --> 0:35:29.000 thing that I do. I just play around like as 0:35:29.000 --> 0:35:31.160 hard as really for me, it's just super easy. I 0:35:31.239 --> 0:35:38.799 just I always know the wisdom and I'm always like 0:35:38.840 --> 0:35:41.759 watching my kids play all these sports. It's kind of 0:35:41.760 --> 0:35:44.279 hard sometimes because now they've got so much pressure on 0:35:44.360 --> 0:35:47.000 us as parents. Maybe this is a suburban thing. I 0:35:47.000 --> 0:35:51.640 don't know. You gotta be at every recital or your 0:35:51.680 --> 0:35:54.360 kid's gonna end up in therapy as a serial killer. 0:35:56.560 --> 0:36:00.720 It's pressure. But I try to get out there running 0:36:00.719 --> 0:36:04.600 around and is this significant? Is this significant? And then 0:36:04.800 --> 0:36:07.800 I get I get caught up an insignificant things and 0:36:07.840 --> 0:36:11.360 I missed significant things, like the Disciples almost missed the 0:36:11.440 --> 0:36:15.000 miracle that day of the Feeding of the five thousand, 0:36:15.000 --> 0:36:16.799 the one that's in all four gospels. Maybe that's why 0:36:16.800 --> 0:36:19.080 they all included it, because they all almost missed it 0:36:19.600 --> 0:36:23.239 because they wanted to send the crowds away. I show 0:36:23.239 --> 0:36:28.800 you something real quick. This is this is Graham. You 0:36:28.960 --> 0:36:30.239 got it in the back. I didn't use it the 0:36:30.239 --> 0:36:35.240 other times, but yeah, this is Graham pinning a joker. 0:36:38.719 --> 0:36:43.239 It was good. It was a little tournament that was 0:36:43.280 --> 0:36:47.800 the championship match of the tournament. It was on a Saturday. 0:36:47.840 --> 0:36:50.320 Normally I'd be preaching that particular Saturday. I had somebody 0:36:50.320 --> 0:36:53.520 else preaching for me. Look who he's looking at. Now, 0:36:53.960 --> 0:36:56.520 guess who he's looking at when he's a minute, I mean, 0:36:56.560 --> 0:36:58.640 he just pinned him. The ref just slapped the mat 0:36:59.280 --> 0:37:04.560 and he looks up like what. And I like it 0:37:04.600 --> 0:37:08.600 because I like it because what he said to me 0:37:08.640 --> 0:37:12.600 when he came back up. I said, isn't they cool? 0:37:12.640 --> 0:37:14.440 How I wentn't preaching today so I could watch you 0:37:14.480 --> 0:37:17.359 in this tournament? And what if I had missed it? 0:37:18.520 --> 0:37:20.480 He said, well, if you had missed it, I probably 0:37:20.480 --> 0:37:29.640 wouldn't have won it. And I was like, if you 0:37:29.719 --> 0:37:35.480 never say anything, just never talk again until you go 0:37:35.560 --> 0:37:45.200 to college. Let's end on that note the same thing. 0:37:47.680 --> 0:37:50.040 You could take it down, although I'd be happy to 0:37:50.239 --> 0:38:03.719 put it on Instagram for you Instagram anyway, It's hard 0:38:03.760 --> 0:38:08.160 to know. Sometimes you don't always get to see the 0:38:08.239 --> 0:38:10.879 gold medal. They don't hand out a gold medal. In fact, 0:38:11.360 --> 0:38:15.520 when it says that the disciples did not understand about 0:38:15.520 --> 0:38:19.439 the loaves, they were amazed, because show the verse again, 0:38:19.520 --> 0:38:23.440 verse fifty two. This first got my attention. Really, this 0:38:23.480 --> 0:38:27.920 is my whole message, because it says they were amazed 0:38:27.960 --> 0:38:30.160 when he got in the boat and the winds died 0:38:30.880 --> 0:38:34.520 because they had not understood about the loaves. It just happened. 0:38:36.680 --> 0:38:38.880 It was the thing that happened right before the storm. 0:38:38.960 --> 0:38:42.120 It had just happened. It wasn't years later, and they 0:38:42.160 --> 0:38:45.480 forgot it had just happened. You know how God provides 0:38:45.520 --> 0:38:49.040 for you, and then you go into a different test 0:38:49.080 --> 0:38:51.120 and you forget the lesson because it's a different test, 0:38:52.800 --> 0:38:55.359 and God provided for you in a bigger way back there. 0:38:55.360 --> 0:38:57.640 But now you're struggling with a little thing here and 0:38:57.680 --> 0:39:01.040 you trip over an insignificant thing. God has already done 0:39:01.040 --> 0:39:03.600 the most significant thing, which is to save your soul. 0:39:08.200 --> 0:39:11.920 They understood about the loaves on one level, physically they ate. 0:39:13.160 --> 0:39:15.840 They understood about the loaves on one level, the crowds 0:39:15.840 --> 0:39:19.920 were fed. But what they didn't understand is that Jesus 0:39:19.920 --> 0:39:22.399 did not feed the multitudes so they could know what 0:39:22.480 --> 0:39:26.040 he did. He fed the multitude so they could know 0:39:26.080 --> 0:39:31.160 who he was. The lesson of the loaves is not 0:39:31.400 --> 0:39:35.000 I am your burger, king your way right away. The 0:39:35.080 --> 0:39:37.200 lesson of the loaves is not that you will never 0:39:37.280 --> 0:39:39.279 be hungry, or you will never hurt, or you will 0:39:39.320 --> 0:39:42.480 never wonder, or you will never doubt. The lesson of 0:39:42.520 --> 0:39:48.560 the loaves is I am the bread of life. I am. 0:39:49.000 --> 0:39:52.320 It is me. It was me when you were hungry. 0:39:52.920 --> 0:39:55.560 It was me when you were lonely. It was me 0:39:55.640 --> 0:39:59.040 when you were depressed. It was me when you were anxious. 0:39:59.320 --> 0:40:02.200 It was me on the mountaintop, it was me in 0:40:02.239 --> 0:40:05.040 the valley. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not 0:40:05.160 --> 0:40:07.960 want I will fear no evil. He is with me 0:40:08.080 --> 0:40:14.920 in this moment. It's me. It was me then, and 0:40:14.960 --> 0:40:18.360 it's me now. It was me that got you through that. 0:40:18.520 --> 0:40:21.200 It's me that will see you through this. And if 0:40:21.239 --> 0:40:23.600 I am in the boat, the wind must submit to 0:40:23.680 --> 0:40:31.200 my word. I am with you. And they didn't get 0:40:31.239 --> 0:40:37.439 it they saw the miracle, They experienced the miracle. They're 0:40:37.480 --> 0:40:39.680 the ones who handed out the bread to the people. 0:40:41.640 --> 0:40:45.840 But you can experience a miracle and miss the significance. 0:40:50.680 --> 0:40:53.759 So God saved you, But what did he save you 0:40:53.880 --> 0:40:57.040 for so you could spend the rest of your life 0:40:57.080 --> 0:40:59.200 carrying the shame he died to take away and nail 0:40:59.239 --> 0:41:01.520 to his cross? Is that what he saved you for? 0:41:03.080 --> 0:41:04.759 God saved you, But what did he save you for 0:41:04.920 --> 0:41:06.600 so you could live the rest of your life just 0:41:06.640 --> 0:41:08.560 as selfish as you lived the first part of your life, 0:41:08.600 --> 0:41:10.719 but with a cross around your neck this time? What 0:41:10.880 --> 0:41:17.840 did he save you for? You can experience the miracle 0:41:17.920 --> 0:41:21.680 of salvation but miss the significant something. God didn't just 0:41:21.760 --> 0:41:27.560 save you from. He saved you for a purpose, a mission, 0:41:28.400 --> 0:41:38.799 a calling. And the miracle was not just that the 0:41:38.840 --> 0:41:42.920 people were fed. The miracle was not just that they 0:41:43.080 --> 0:41:46.919 ate bread. The miracle is not just what God does 0:41:47.000 --> 0:41:51.680 for you. The miracle is that you see who He is. 0:41:53.440 --> 0:41:58.160 This is beautiful. It is so beautiful that it bears repeating. 0:41:58.320 --> 0:42:04.200 It bears repeating, and in Mark chapter eight, this miracle 0:42:04.239 --> 0:42:07.400 is so significant it happens again. One way you can 0:42:07.440 --> 0:42:10.280 tell when something is important is when it is repeated. 0:42:12.480 --> 0:42:16.960 So the disciples find themselves in a situation that is 0:42:17.080 --> 0:42:20.880 very similar. There's a big crowd and there's no food. 0:42:21.880 --> 0:42:24.759 You know, like last time when you were worried and 0:42:24.880 --> 0:42:27.160 upset and you didn't think you were gonna make it, 0:42:27.560 --> 0:42:29.800 and you made it. And now here you are again, 0:42:30.200 --> 0:42:32.279 and the wind's blowing again, and you don't think you're 0:42:32.320 --> 0:42:37.160 gonna make it. A spoiler alert, you will. That's thee 0:42:37.200 --> 0:42:40.759 lesson of the Lows. That's the lesson of the I 0:42:40.800 --> 0:42:43.000 didn't mean to ruin the movie for you. But at 0:42:43.040 --> 0:42:45.720 the end of this thing, you're gonna be in Beth Sayda. 0:42:45.920 --> 0:42:48.000 Because if he told you I'll meet you on the 0:42:48.040 --> 0:42:50.480 other side, you don't die in the lake in the 0:42:50.480 --> 0:42:58.520 middle of the night. Come on, cherch has he not 0:42:58.760 --> 0:43:03.239 shown you? Don't you see it? Don't you hear it? 0:43:03.239 --> 0:43:09.400 It's the same voice, the same God. And so he 0:43:09.440 --> 0:43:13.840 feeds the crowd. In Mark chapter eight, and the Bible 0:43:13.840 --> 0:43:17.399 says Mark eight fourteen, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread. 0:43:17.440 --> 0:43:20.640 Stand up, it'll make me close, quicker, don't leave, it'll 0:43:20.640 --> 0:43:27.200 make me angry. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread 0:43:29.239 --> 0:43:33.240 except for one loaf. They had with them in the boat. 0:43:34.120 --> 0:43:36.440 I don't mean to correct the scripture, but there were 0:43:36.440 --> 0:43:39.520 actually two loaves in the boat. One of them was 0:43:39.560 --> 0:43:47.400 the bread they could see. Be careful, Jesus warned them, 0:43:48.680 --> 0:43:50.799 watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that 0:43:50.880 --> 0:43:55.720 of Herod. He is warning them against the seemingly insignificant 0:43:55.719 --> 0:44:00.920 compromises that corrode your faith. Watch out, he said, your 0:44:00.960 --> 0:44:06.960 words are significant, your habits are significant, your friendships are significant. 0:44:07.400 --> 0:44:10.440 Watch out for that yeast. And when he said yeast, 0:44:11.480 --> 0:44:15.960 they thought about bread. And they discussed this with one 0:44:15.960 --> 0:44:22.200 another and said, it is because we have no bread. 0:44:24.320 --> 0:44:26.920 They still didn't get it. They saw him do it, 0:44:27.960 --> 0:44:32.439 and they still didn't get that he was it. They're 0:44:32.480 --> 0:44:37.839 still worried about provision. You're still worried about bills. You're 0:44:37.920 --> 0:44:41.200 still worried. We're still thinking on the level of what 0:44:41.320 --> 0:44:45.759 we can see. Jesus, aware of their discussion, asked them 0:44:45.800 --> 0:44:51.800 a question, why are you talking about having no bread? 0:44:53.120 --> 0:44:57.120 Why are you worrying about something that I've already worked out? 0:45:00.000 --> 0:45:03.440 Why are you doubting something that you've already seen me 0:45:03.640 --> 0:45:11.880 do so many times before. Do you still not see 0:45:12.000 --> 0:45:16.600 or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes 0:45:16.640 --> 0:45:19.479 but fail to see? And ears but failed to hear? 0:45:19.760 --> 0:45:23.879 Do you still hear Laurel when it's really Yanny? And 0:45:23.960 --> 0:45:30.200 don't you remember when I broke the five loaves for 0:45:30.239 --> 0:45:34.200 the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you 0:45:34.239 --> 0:45:38.120 pick up? Twelve? They reply? When I read that, I 0:45:38.120 --> 0:45:40.400 thought the significance of the miracle is in the numbers. 0:45:40.440 --> 0:45:42.440 You know, five is the number of grace in the Bible. 0:45:42.920 --> 0:45:47.640 It represents graces symbolic, twelve disciples, twelve tribes, a number 0:45:47.680 --> 0:45:50.320 of government. So I thought it was about the numbers. 0:45:50.360 --> 0:45:53.200 But then verse twenty says when I broke the seven 0:45:53.239 --> 0:45:55.840 loaves for the four thousand, how many basketballs and pieces 0:45:55.840 --> 0:45:57.800 did you pick up? And then I said, well, seven's 0:45:57.800 --> 0:46:02.760 the number of completion and four thousand. Really, I can't 0:46:02.880 --> 0:46:08.040 really do anything with that. They answered seven. He said, 0:46:08.040 --> 0:46:11.080 do you still not understand? And then I read it 0:46:11.080 --> 0:46:14.480 again verse nineteen, Verse nineteen, verse nineteen when I broke, 0:46:16.840 --> 0:46:22.400 And then I read verse twenty when I broke, and 0:46:22.440 --> 0:46:25.880 I realized the significance of the miracle is that the 0:46:25.880 --> 0:46:37.000 bread had to be broken. They wouldn't understand this really 0:46:37.080 --> 0:46:39.000 until he went to the cross, they ate the bread, 0:46:39.000 --> 0:46:43.320 but they did not understand the significance until he was 0:46:43.400 --> 0:46:49.080 crushed for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, because 0:46:49.120 --> 0:46:56.560 the bread couldn't be given until it was broken. When 0:46:56.600 --> 0:47:00.200 you were in a breaking season of your life, being 0:47:00.200 --> 0:47:05.640 broken of your pride and your stubbornness, your opinions, and 0:47:05.719 --> 0:47:10.640 you're straining against the wind, it is easy to begin 0:47:10.680 --> 0:47:12.520 to believe that it is going to break you. But 0:47:12.920 --> 0:47:16.000 God will not allow life to break you. That's his job. 0:47:18.320 --> 0:47:20.399 And when you're in his hands, like the song said, 0:47:21.560 --> 0:47:23.279 prepare that chorus of do it again, We're going to 0:47:23.320 --> 0:47:26.200 sing it. I'm still in your hands. We're going to 0:47:26.239 --> 0:47:29.120 sing that, and we're going to understand that the lesson 0:47:29.120 --> 0:47:30.920 of the loaves is not that everybody went home with 0:47:30.960 --> 0:47:34.600 a full belly. The lesson of the loaves is this. 0:47:37.040 --> 0:47:39.920 The end of your story is not that you are broken. 0:47:41.200 --> 0:47:44.719 The end of the story is the basket false. This 0:47:44.880 --> 0:47:51.880 story does not end in brokenness. This story ends with leftovers. 0:47:53.280 --> 0:47:55.960 I want to let you know today this is significant. 0:47:56.840 --> 0:48:00.040 God is not done with you. I set God, it 0:48:00.120 --> 0:48:03.400 is not done with you. I'm preaching this word for 0:48:03.520 --> 0:48:07.160 somebody who's been straining against the wind. Grace is coming 0:48:07.200 --> 0:48:10.520 to your pope. The bread is in the Master's hands, 0:48:13.000 --> 0:48:17.000 and the bread was only broken to be given. Lift 0:48:17.040 --> 0:48:19.240 your hands in the presence of God, no one moving. 0:48:21.120 --> 0:48:29.040 This is my confidence that he is faithful, faithfulness. I'm 0:48:29.120 --> 0:48:40.080 stealing your hands. This is my conference. You never you 0:48:40.400 --> 0:48:52.160 promise seals stands. Greed is your faithfulness, faithfulness. I'm sealing you. 0:48:54.360 --> 0:49:03.880 This is my contents. You never you draw mes SEUs 0:49:04.120 --> 0:49:22.560 its greed is your faithless faith seals. This is my confidence. Listen, 0:49:22.600 --> 0:49:25.719 here's what you do. You take what you learned from 0:49:25.760 --> 0:49:31.680 the loaves, and you remember it in the storm. You 0:49:31.760 --> 0:49:36.320 take the basketful from the last time that God provided 0:49:36.400 --> 0:49:39.880 for you, and the next time the wind begins to 0:49:39.960 --> 0:49:43.600 rage in your life, you remember that if Jesus is 0:49:43.640 --> 0:49:47.480 in this boat with me, if I draw near to God, 0:49:48.440 --> 0:49:52.120 he will draw near to me. And as we worship 0:49:52.200 --> 0:49:55.719 him as the Son of God, today the wind has 0:49:55.840 --> 0:49:59.800 to die down. Anxiety has to shut its mouth in 0:49:59.840 --> 0:50:03.880 the bressives of God. Because we know who he is, 0:50:04.840 --> 0:50:08.759 and we've seen what he's done. We have faithful what 0:50:08.800 --> 0:50:12.480 He's gonna do to see anybody believe He's with you 0:50:12.600 --> 0:50:20.040 in this season. Time. Well, I hope you enjoyed the 0:50:20.080 --> 0:50:22.479 podcast today. If you did, there are just a couple 0:50:22.600 --> 0:50:26.000 things I'd love for you to do. Number One, subscribe 0:50:26.040 --> 0:50:28.919 to our show. That way, the most recent episode will 0:50:28.920 --> 0:50:32.120 always be in your feed, waiting for you, ready when 0:50:32.160 --> 0:50:35.440 you are. And Secondly, if this ministry has impacted you 0:50:35.840 --> 0:50:37.840 and you'd like to help us continue to reach others, 0:50:38.239 --> 0:50:40.279 you can click the link in the description and you 0:50:40.320 --> 0:50:43.440 can give now and I'll see you next time on 0:50:43.600 --> 0:50:44.759 the Elevation Podcast.