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Amen and amen. Hey, if you got your Bibles, I hope you do grab them. We're in Matthew chapter 8. In a second we'll get to verse 18. The text that we are studying this week is sandwiched in between what we studied last week. So just in case you forgot. I know you didn't. I know you remember everything that we do every single week for all time, please. But last week, Jesus goes on this healing spree. He begins to heal all these people, heals a leper, and then a Roman centurion servant, and then Peter's mother in law, and then many oppressed people by demons. And then we're gonna get to our text today at Sandwich Inn. And then we also covered the two demoniacs that he healed. And then we prayed that he would heal you. And so last week was an amazing week around here. A whole bunch of you humbled yourself and came and asked for prayer. And so I would love for you if God had moved in some kind of significant way in your life, then I would love for you to share that testimony, find somebody on staff and share it with them. Because the Bible says in the book of Revelation that they, the church will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. It's a really, really big deal when God moves that you would share what God has done in your life. And then right in the middle of this, this is where we skipped over these verses. Cause I wanted to do all the people healing in a row. And so now we're gonna come back to another miracle. If you pick it up in verse 18, the Bible says this. It says now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, and the reason there was a big crowd around him is because all of these people were being healed. It says, and when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. This will be very important in understanding what happens in just a little while when he does a miracle. So underline that in your Bible. He gave orders to go over to the other side. And again, the reason that the crowds are getting bigger and bigger and bigger is because people will show up when lives get changed. One of the biggest reasons our church has grown like it has is because God has saved people. And, and God has changed lives. And that's why people are showing up, because they want what God has done in your life. Verse 19. And a scribe, a scribe is a Jewish religious leader. He's like trying to be a Pharisee, trying to be a Sadducee. He's a religious leader, and here's what he says. And a scribe came up to Jesus and said to him, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. Now, you would think Jesus would be like, sweet, that's why I'm here, Sweet, Let me tell you where to sign up. Sweet. This is easy. We have this thing called the discipleship journey. And all you gotta do is take one step at a time. And here's what Jesus says to him. Again, the guy says, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. The disciples are like, sweet, the ministry's growing Jesus answer, verse 20. And Jesus said to him, foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head. And I think the guy's like, so is that a yes or a no? Like, am I in or am I out? Here's one of the things that you're gonna see with Jesus. Jesus doesn't recruit. At no point does. Jesus is like, hey, listen, let me tell you all of the positive aspects that are gonna come if you become one of my followers. No, no, no, that's not what he does at all. In fact, he tells him exactly what it's gonna cost him. He's like, yeah, you like it that I can do miracles. But if you follow after me, I need you to know I ain't got nowhere to sleep, I got nowhere to stay. It is going to cost you everything to follow Jesus. Jesus is not an add on to your life that we don't follow after Jesus because he is an addition to our life. And maybe he could help our finances and help our family and help our social status. Jesus refuses to simply be an add on. Jesus is not an accessory to your life. He is either your whole life or he is not in your life. And I am not here to water down what it means to follow after Jesus. We don't do that here. It costs you everything to surrender. In fact, if you'll remember, we go back to the Sermon on the Mount, when he says, blessed are the meek, that means that what it means to be a follower of Jesus is first and foremost, you gotta be poor in spirit. You gotta realize, I ain't got this. I need for you to do for me what I cannot do for myself. And to be a Jesus follower, to call him your Lord is to turn the reins of your life over to him. That is what he requires. Verse 21. Another of the disciples said to him, lord, let me first go and bury my father. Here's what he's saying, Jesus, I'll follow you as soon as I do what I need to do first. Now don't look ahead. What do you think Jesus is gonna say? Well, that must be a very tough time for you, so maybe you need to go deal with that first. And then after you deal with that first, then you can come follow me. That's not what Jesus says. Jesus says, and Jesus said to him, follow me and leave the dead to bury their own dead. So you don't wanna go to Jesus for counseling? Look at this. Is that brutal? Seems brutal, doesn't it? Let me explain a little bit, and I'm not trying to water this down. The guy comes up to Jesus and says, I've got some stuff that I need to do in my life and when I'm finished with doing some things in my life, that then I will follow you. And Jesus goes, that's not how it works. That would have been very different if the guy comes up to him and says, jesus, I understand you're the son of God. You are my Lord. I'm going through this very difficult time. My father has died, what should I do? These are very different things because when he comes up and says, jesus, I'll follow you. But first Jesus goes, that's not how it works. You don't tell me how you're gonna follow me. That's not how it works. The sheep do not direct the shepherd. And I'm just here to tell you there's a bunch of people listening right now and you've got some but first in your life, you're like, jesus, I'll follow you. But first I gotta make some money. And once I make some money, then after I get my house kind of in order, then I'll follow you, Jesus, I'll follow you. But I'm dating right now. Not in a way that honors you. So once I figure this kind of part of my life out, then I'll become your follower Jesus, first I gotta have some kids and then I know you're gonna help me out when I have kids. Cause of course I wanna raise em in the church. But first let me get that part of my life in order and then I'll follow you. Some of you are like, I'm in college and there's some stuff I wanna do in college and I need you to forgive me of it when I get done with this. So first let me just wild out here and then I'll come and follow you. And here's the thing, man, if you have a but first in your life, then Jesus is Not first in your life as Lord. This is what he's saying. And if that hurts your feelings, I don't email Jesus. And so then he kind of gets over it. Cause he tells the disciples, hey, get in the boat, you're gonna go to the other side. And then he has these very abrupt conversations with these kind of would be followers, these conditional followers. Verse 23. And when Jesus got into the boat, and the reason he got into the boat is because Jesus gave orders to go to the other side again. This is the second time now in this little passage of scripture that you have to pay attention to. And here's what you have to pay attention to. Jesus said that they're getting in the boat and they are going to the other side. This is key. And God always keeps his promises. That's what you have to understand. So if Jesus got in the boat and he said, we are going to the other side, then I don't care what happens, you're going to the other side. When he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea. The Greek word here for great storm means like high winds, big waves. It's a hurricane. This is what it is. So they're standing at the Sea of Galilee. Have you ever been, if you ever get the opportunity to go, it's really just a big lake. It's not a sea. But you know, God's chosen people are really into their stuff, so they call it a sea. But you can see the other side. This is right over, this is a few miles over. And it's very common because the Sea of Galilee is between two really steep mountain peaks and the winds swirl and happen there. And seemingly out of nowhere, what can go from a calm glassy sea could be 8, 10 foot waves just out of nowhere. And that's what happens here. And behold, there arose a great storms. So the boat was being swamped by the waves. Now, a first century fishing boat that they would have been in is not like your sweet center console, okay? It's about six feet wide and the sides are really low. This is not the kind of boat that can take on these kind of waves. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, at the command of Jesus, the boys get into the boat and then a storm just erupts. And Jesus knows it's coming and they have no idea that it's coming. Now every single one of us can make the connection here. When you talk about this storm that they're in, some of us are in a storm right now, and quite honestly, some of you are in this storm and you did not see it coming. And some of you are in this storm and it's not your fault. And this is sometimes the hardest one to deal with. And some of you are in this storm because you listened to the voice of Jesus and did what he told you to do. He is the sovereign king of the universe. So why are there storms? Why do bad things happen in this world? There's all kind of reasons, man. There's all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it's because of the fall and it's collateral damage and we live in a broken world. Sometimes it is because of your sin. I'm not here to just make it feel okay. You play dumb games, you win dumb prizes. That's just true. Sometimes it's an attack of the enemy, sometimes it's demonic oppression. And no matter what the reason behind it is, there is no thing on this planet that does not pass through the sovereign hands of the Almighty God. So Jesus is not surprised by the storm that's coming. And he tells the boys, get in the boat, we're going through it now. The reality is, sometimes when you're in the middle of the storm, spending all your time wondering why this thing happened doesn't really help you a whole lot. And in fact, here's one of the most aggravating things. If you're a believer in Jesus and you hang out with church people and you walk through a storm, a storm begins to rise up in your life out of nowhere. You, you ever have some well meaning church folk and they just point out to you that you're in a storm? Is that helpful at all? It's not helpful at all, is it? Well, you shouldn't have done that. You shouldn't have got in the boat. Did you not check your weather app? Well, I appreciate it there, bro. I need help out of this thing now. And some of you feel like your marriages are in a storm. It's taking on water, right? And you didn't see it coming. And it wasn't your fault. You stood in an altar and you made a vow and you made a promise. And I'm not saying you're perfect, but you did your part. And the one that promised, for better or for worse, they bailed. And maybe that's the storm you find yourself in. For some of you, it's finances, man. And again, you've trusted God with your first and best. You thought this thing was a good deal, and then things turn upside down. For some of you, man, you got A sick kid. And it doesn't matter what you talk about. It's the only thing you can think about. Some of you have broken relationships, and it feels like a storm. Some of you have a business deal that went south. Some of you lost somebody that you love very, very much. And the feelings of that loss just overwhelm you, like the video. Some of you are struggling with infertility, or you've got a habit that's just overtaking you. If you feel hopeless and you feel helpless. And the idea of a storm makes a lot of sense. Because when a storm hits, it's wave upon wave upon wave upon wave. And you just think, if I could just catch my breath for just a second. If I could just get a second of peace. Cause that's how storms come, right? If you're dealing with a health issue, it's not just a singular doctor's appointment. It's appointment after appointment. And you're waiting on the readings, and you're waiting on the next step. Or if you've got a prodigal child, it's not just like one dumb decision. It's decision after decision after decision. It's just wave upon wave. And you're just thinking, if I could just catch my breath, if I could just get a little bit of peace. And that's what you're looking for, peace. And that's why you are here right now, to find peace. Cause that's what we're all looking for. So the storm rises up out of nowhere. And then look at this next verse. But he. That's Jesus, was asleep. Anybody ever feel like you got a storm in your life and from your perspective. Perspective, it seems like God's asleep. I mean, the disciples, we're gonna see it in a minute. They're freaking out. And maybe you're freaking out because you're overwhelmed by the conditions in your life. And yet you're praying like crazy and you're not hearing anything back. And you're thinking, all right, Jesus, what are you doing? Why are you letting this happen to me? Are you asleep at the wheel? What are you doing? Now, the verse I told you to memorize. Of course he's asleep. Why? Cause what did he say he was gonna do? He said, get in this boat. We're going to the other side. So he is not controlled by his circumstances. He is in control of all the circumstances. He knows what his Father's will is, and he knows that his Father still has the whole world in his hands. So while everybody else is panicking, they Jesus is at peace. And they went and woke him up. Can we just agree nobody should wake up anybody from a nap unless the house is on fire? And they went and they woke him up. And here's what they say. Save us, Lord. We are perishing. There's a lot here. One of the things I love to do when I do Bible study is this is written by Matthew. He's an eyewitness. We've told you from the beginning, Matthew was born an insider. He was born of the Jewish people. He chooses to be an outsider. He's a tax collector. And then we're going to see in a few chapters that Jesus goes and finds him and calls him to be a disciple. And so he is writing this text to help his Jewish brothers and sisters understand that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ that the Old Testament pointed to. Well, if you were to flip over to the Gospel of Mark, Mark was not an eyewitness. And Mark interviewed Peter to get his information, who was an eyewitness. And there's some details that Mark gets from Peter that Matthew doesn't include. So if you go over. You don't have to go over there. I'll just read it according to Mark. Here's what the disciples say. And they woke Jesus. And they said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are all perishing? There's a lot here. You see, one of the things that can happen when we are in a storm, there's a lot of bad things happen. For one, they say, these are professional fishermen. Peter was James, John. And they say we are perishing. Well, how perishing could you be if Jesus has taken a nap in this circumstances? Have you ever overestimated the circumstances that you find yourself in, ever? Oh, my God, this is the worst thing I've ever been in. And I am not trying to belittle the feelings that you have. I just need you to understand you shouldn't trust your feelings. Now, feelings are not bad. Feelings are a gift of God. Feelings are given to us by God so that we can navigate this thing called life. And there are no bad feelings. See Ecclesiastes 3. There's a season under heaven for everything. But feelings make an okay gauge. They make a terrible God. And so Jesus is napping, and they are saying we're perishing. And they take it. They make it theological. They're like, Jesus, do you not care that we are perishing? You see, they think that Jesus apparent absent in this situation must mean that he doesn't care. You ever been there? You ever pray and Pray and pray. And you sense silence from God and you take that silence as if he doesn't care about you. Or you ask God for something and ask God for something and ask God for something. And you perceive his lack of cooperation as his non existence. And Jesus is not freaking out, although the disciples are. So what do you do when you find yourself in that kind of place? Is it okay to go to Jesus and freak out? I've got some good news. It is. It is, man. He is not intimidated by your prayers. He is not offended by your prayers. What he actually wants is for you to bring the real you to him. You don't have to fake it and pray some little G rated prayers. You don't have to do that. Okay, in fact, how about this prayer? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That's a strong one. And before Jesus ever quotes it on the cross, David, the psalmist, he feels like he's being attacked in every direction, because he is. And he writes this in his journal. He writes this as a prayer. My God, my God, what are you doing? I'm perishing and you don't even care. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And God does not show up on the scene to David and be like, shut your mouth. He's actually like, that's a good one, Dave. Jot that one down. We're gonna put that one in the book. There's gonna be some people for generations and generations and generations that need to pray that prayer. And then sometimes you ever get around people, you're really dealing with some stuff, man. A kid, a marriage, finances. I mean, it's just wave upon wave, right? And then you get to the disciple group and somebody's like, I just need to give a praise report. The Lord's answering my prayers. Be like, all right, Tammy, what's going on? Like, I just prayed at the prayer and anointing came down. Dear God, can't find my keys. And the Lord answered my prayer. Turns out I left them in the door. Like, Tammy, Lord, I got like a real thing and you helping dumb. Tammy, be very, very careful. You see, Christ being at peace with this situation does not indicate a lack of compassion for our situation. Like, Jesus has never sat up in heaven and be like, oh, no, what's happening in the world? He is in charge of it all. And the amount of peace that you experience will be directly proportionate to how much trust you have in God. And God the Son has ultimate trust in God the Father, and he knew God's plan for him. And he said to them, why are you afraid? Oh, you of little faith. You see, this is why we got to take it back to what Jesus said. Why are you afraid? Oh, you of little faith. Did you not hear what I said we were going to do? I said we were going to the other side. And if I say it, it happens every single time. Because Go cannot break a promise. He is a promise keeping God. I've taught on this 100 million times. It's the most commanded thing in the entire scripture. At least 366 times in the King James version of the Bible, there is some version of do not be afraid. It's the most commanding thing. And I don't think it's coincidence, but there's at least one for every day of the year, including leap year. It'll say, take courage. Be anxious for nothing. Don't be afraid. Fear not that three times before Joshua goes to take over the promised land, God looks at Joshua, speaks out loud to Joshua and says, be strong and courageous. Strong and courageous. Strong and courageous. Why? Because he's weak and afraid. Weak and afraid. Weak and afraid. But what God does not say to him is, be strong and courageous. Cause Joshua, you're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it, I like you. That's not what he says. He doesn't want Joshua to look at Joshua for Joshua's strength and courage. He says, be strong and courageous, for I am with you. The reason that Jesus is like, why are you afraid? Oh, you of little faith. I'm right here with you. And the difference between fear and faith is simply this. When you look into the future, who do you think's in control? Because if you look into your future and you think it's your circumstances, if you look into your future and you think it's you, you will be crippled with fear because you know you don't have what it takes. But if we look into the future and we realize that the sovereign king of the universe still has the whole world in his hands, then we will be filled with faith. There's this account way back in the Old Testament, after God blesses Abraham. We've talked about it a million times. In Genesis 12, God says, I'm gonna make you the father of many nations. Through you, I'm gonna give you a promised son. He was 80 years old. And through this promised son, the whole world is gonna be blessed. Every family around the world is gonna be blessed. Twenty years later, the promise comes to fruition. And his boy Isaac is Born. And then God tests Abraham and says, Abraham, I want you to take your son, the son of your love, your only begotten son, and I want you to take him up on a mountain and I want you to sacrifice him. And Abraham goes through with it. He doesn't sacrifice him because God's gonna show up and go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, that was a test. You trust me. But here's the thing. Here's the key to understanding how Abraham was able to do that. Because he believed that God is who he says he is. And he always keeps his promises. And God's promise that this boy was gonna be a blessing and this boy was gonna have a bunch of kids. And if this boy doesn't make it off the mountain, then how in the world is God going to do that? So even though he didn't understand how God was going to accomplish it, he knew God was going to accomplish it. And before they went up on Mount Moriah, eventually where the temple would be and eventually where Jesus, where God would give his son to be sacrificed, he looks at the servants and he says, my son and I will go up and worship and we will return. Why? Because he knows that God is a promise keeping God and that he's going to do what God is telling him to do and he's going to trust God with the consequences. So Jesus is saying, why are you afraid? Oh you of little faith. And then he rose and the Bible says, and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. Mark tells us exactly what he says, that it's translated in English. Peace, be still. Literally in Greek, what he says is, be quiet and stay quiet. That's what he says. And I think the Bible's over there. So I'm making this part up. I think he's looking at the disciples, he's talking to the wind and the waves. But he's also looking into the heart of the disciples. And they're freaking out. Oh Lord, do you not even care? We're perishing. And he says, be quiet, stay quiet. And the wind and the waves and the hearts of the disciples. There's a Great calm verse 27. And the men marveled, saying, what sort of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? That word marveled. It means like a reverent fear. You see what they did is they just replaced their fear. They had a fear of the consequences, they had a fear of the circumstances. And then Jesus is lord over the circumstances. And what's more scary than a hurricane that can kill you. The one that can tell the hurricane stop and it has to listen. So the question is, so what do you do when you find yourself in a storm? Cause some of you right now, man, the sea is glassy, everything's going great. God bless you, man. Enjoy it. Enjoy it. Because a storm is coming. If you've lived any life at all, you understand you're either in one, coming out of one, or one's coming your way. I mean, you may feel great today. The 24 hour virus is coming your way sometimes. So what do you do? I'm gonna give you four things the next time you find yourself in a storm. The first thing is this. Look up. You see all of their attention was on the storm around them. And I'm not saying that you don't notice it. I'm not saying that you are oblivious to the things that are going on in your life. But quit fixing all of your attention on the storm and. And look up and fix your eyes on the one that can calm down the storm. Now, we skipped a part of the Sermon on the Mount because we're gonna teach it in the fall. We're gonna put a bunch of texts together and teach it together. But when Jesus comes off of the mountain on which he gives the Sermon on the Mount, this is just one page before this. He just taught this. They're freaking out about their circumstances, they're worried about their conditions. And he's just taught these words, Matthew 6, 25, 34. Therefore, I tell you, don't be anxious about your life. He just taught this. Now they're in the boat and they're anxious about their life. He says, don't be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will eat. Or. Wait, I read all that. Let me start over. Therefore I tell you, don't be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing? He says, look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. And then he asked this question. Listen, if you're a PETA person, you're not here. But if you're watching online and you're a PETA person, Jesus says, are you not of more value than birds? The answer is yeah. Can you imagine if you could interview a bird, say, hey, man, what are you worried about? Birds like, nothing. What about where you're Gonna live? Where do you live? Well, we live over there right now, but if that one falls out, we'll just move over here. What about what you're gonna eat? Are you not worried? Nah, man, we just get up. God provides every day. Are you not worried about your children? Like how they're gonna turn out? No, actually, right before they're ready, we kick them right out and be like, good luck. How? How? They're like, oh, God takes care of us. Jesus is like, you gonna have a bird, have more faith in you. He says, and which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to, to his span of life? You know, actually the opposite is true. Worry and stress will kill you. Do you realize this? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into an oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. And when he says gentiles here, he doesn't just mean non Jewish people. He goes, when your life is full of worry and anxiety and your circumstances are the biggest thing in your world, you're acting like a person that doesn't even believe in God. You're being a practical atheist. You know, I'm not an atheist. I'm at church. I just sang the song, I'm gonna pray the prayer. I raised my hand during the thing. Well, that's adorable, but the way you're living your life, you're acting as if God is not in charge. I mean, think about if you're a believer in Jesus, if you're a believer in the scriptures, okay? If you believe this is the holy, inerrant, inspired word of God and everything it says is true, think about the things that you say you believe. You believe God spoke all things into existence. You believe that Moses parted the Red Sea and the people of God walked through on dry ground? Uh huh. You believe Elijah called fire out of heaven and burnt up 850 prophets? I do. You believe that God the Son was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, walked on water, brought dead people back. You believe all that like I do? You believe that Jesus came out of the tomb? Mm. And that one day he's gonna return with a sword out of his mouth, Tattoos on his quad, on a horse. Guess what I believe. And you don't think he could handle your sophomore year at unfinished. That don't make no sense. You may not understand the storm that you're going through. No problem, man. There's all kinds of things we don't understand. But do you believe that God is good? That God always keeps his promises, for the Father knows that you need them all? In verse 33, he says, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things will be added to you. The Therefore don't be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Look up, get your eyes off of the storm. And you get your eyes fixed on the author and the creator of all things who loves you. And it's for you. The second thing is look around. So look up, get your eyes fixed on him. Get your eyes above the horizon and fix your eyes on him. And. And then secondly, you gotta look around. You need some people in your life with you, man. For one reason is that when you are praying like crazy and God's not answering your prayers the way you were hoping that he would if you were in the right kind of community, one of the things that will help you spur your faith on is you'll begin to see God at work in all kind of people's lives. I'm telling you, man, the faithfulness of some brothers and sisters here at 11:22 encourages my faith. Because even if I don't see God at work in a particular situation, all I got to do is look down these rows and I see God at work in that situation. In that situation, in that situation. Another reason too, man, you gotta look around and surround yourself with some Mac carriers. We're gonna talk about this next week. But we were not meant to do this life alone. And can you imagine if the disciples, if they just had one person of courage. See, it's okay to be scared. You just can't be full of fear. Fear paralyzes and faith produces action. Scared is just an emotion. But when you are scared, and then by faith, you begin to take steps forward in obedience to Christ, that's called courage. And we need more courage in the church. And so if there would have just been one disciple in the boat, to be like, hold on, hold on, hold on. He's the Lord of the universe, this is going to be okay. Because courage can be contagious. And. And Sometimes you gotta look around and make sure you've surrounded yourself with some faithful men and women of God, so that when you don't feel like you have the faith to do what you need to do, then you got some brothers and sisters and they've got their shield of faith, and you can borrow some of their faith for a little bit. We're gonna talk about it next week. But when the mat carriers bring the guy and tear the hole in the roof, Jesus sees the faith of the friends, and the man on the mat gets healed. Because the faith of his friends. The Bible says, he who walks with wise grows wise. But the companion of fools suffers harm. And some of you are suffering harm because you're running around with fools. I mean, my daddy used to say, boy, if you always run with dogs, you smell like dog stuff. Isolation is a key tactic of the enemy, man. Look around, look around. All of Hebrews, chapter 11 is what we call the hall of Faith. It talks about the faithfulness of the men and women who have gone before us in the Old Testament. And after, it says, by faith, by faith, by faith. And it tells all these stories with a real redacted history. After, it talks about the faithfulness of the men and women who have gone before us. The book of Hebrews, chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising its shame, and is seated at the right hand of God. The throne. Seated at the right hand of God on the throne. Listen, do you notice that there are no, like, individual pronouns there? It's all us. It's all our. We are in this thing together. Make sure that you are surrounded by the kind of witnesses that are helping you fix your eyes on Jesus. So you look around, you look around, and you're surrounded by people that help you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. And then this is gonna be a tough one. You look up, you look around, and you look ahead. Because if God is not sovereign, there's no purpose in your storm. But if God is who he says he is, and he is in control of all things, and he is Lord of all, then God is at work in all things, and all means all. And God never wastes the hurt that sometimes storms are for correcting. Like, see Jonah? And sometimes Storms are for creating character in you. James, the brother of Jesus, says it this way. This is a hard verse. It's an easy verse to read. It's such a hard verse to actually live. He says, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. Now I love me some. Romans 8:28. Romans 8, 28. For God is at work in all things for the good of those that love him and are called according to his purpose. And oftentimes it's easier to see Romans 8:28 in the rear view mirror, like there was some mess back there. And after God brought you through it, you can look in the rear view and be like, oh, I can completely see how God used that pain in my life to bring me where I am. Thank you, God. That's not what James says. James ain't talking about the rear view. He says, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, like you're walking on your path, you can see clearly now the rain is gone. It's nice and sunshine. And then a various trial comes up and you're like, it is a joy to meet you. Cause God doesn't waste a hurt man. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. What if Jesus is actually preparing you to do something? Because here's what's crazy. If you read ahead in just a few chapters, I think we get to chapter 14. They're going to be in another storm and Jesus is going to walk on the water. And Peter's been like, hey, boss, if that's you, can I come out there with you? And Jesus is like, come on, big boy. And Peter, boop, boop. Out on the water. Why? Because he has experienced in the past that that Jesus can calm the storm. So if he calls me out there, then I can come out there. This time when he calms the storm, they're like, who is this man that even the wind and the waves listen the next time he calms the storm? They say, this is the Son of God, that he calms storms. And then the chapter after that, Peter is gonna be the one. When Jesus says, who do you say that I am? Peter's like, ooh, I know you are the Christ and son of a living God. How do you know Jesus as savior? It's when you were stuck in the muck and the mire of your sin and that's what you needed. How do you know Jesus Healer, it's cause you needed him to heal. How do you know Jesus has peace? Cause your life was a train wreck and he brought you peace in that time of need. You see, maybe the storm you're going through is not punishment at all, but it's preparation. I mean, think about David when David was just a boy and all of his other brothers are like, in the lineup in the army, and he's out there being a shepherd boy. He could have seen the field as punishment, but instead he treated it as preparation. And guess what? He got really good with the sling, he got really good with the harp, and he got really good at writing songs. And little did he know he was not just an overlooked shepherd boy that was placed out into the field. He was being prepared to be a king. See, God is preparing something in you. So if you're going through the storm, man, I know it's not the script that you would write for you, but thank God we don't get to write the script. Amen. But it's not meaningless. Paul says this in 2nd Corinthians 4:16, so we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. So whatever you're going through, man, it's not meaningless. I know it hurts. I know you cry. I know you don't understand. It's not meaningless. God is preparing for you an eternal weight of glory. God never wastes a hurt in Romans 8:28, says, For God is at work in all things for the good of those that love him. So if it ain't good, that means he's not done, because he is going to work it for your good and for his glory. I know I've shared this a hundred million times, but I see some old football players in here. When I was coaching at Providence, man, and I was in the weight room with these jokers one day. Yeah, I'm talking to you. And we play football, man. And they're in there just like, working out like a women's yoga class. What are we doing? They're just doing little, like, you know, they want to look good at the beach. I don't care what you look like at the beach. That's not going to help you in the trenches, you understand? And so Everybody's in there just kind of just wasting time. And I get, you know, it made me agitated and I'm trying to motivate them. And then eventually I just lost it. I was like, everybody wants to be strong. Nobody wants to be sore. And I thought, that's the church. Everybody wants this deep, abiding, Christlike life. And sometimes we actually ask God to remove us from the very gym that he's put us in to develop the strength that we ask him for. Look ahead. God's got a plan for you. He's not caught off guard. So look up, Fix your eyes on him. Look ahead. He's going to use this. And look back. Look back. You see the major problem with the disciples is they just forgot that God is good. They said, do you not even care? Now we have an advantage. Do you know how I know that God cares for you? That God loves you? Because Jesus is the proof. And Romans 5, 8 says, But God demonstrates His love for us in this, that while we were yet still sinners, Christ died for us. Do you know how I know that God cares about you? Because before you ever did anything to straighten your life out, before you went to church two times in a row, before you quit drinking so much during the week and tried to be nice to your wife, whatever the thing is you're trying to be better at, before you ever did anything to move towards him, he demonstrated once and for all with an ultimate act of love, that Christ died for you. We have a great advantage. When you are wondering what God thinks about you, don't look at your circumstances, look at the cross. And if ever there was a picture of God using something that looks like he's completely lost control, if ever there was a picture of God being at work in all things for the good of those that love him and are called according to his purpose, it's the cross. It's not your circumstance. It's the cross. I mean, think about it. If you were there the day that Christ was crucified, if you were standing at the cross foot of Golgotha and you had been following Jesus and you saw him calm the storm and you saw him bring the little girl back to life, and you saw him walk on water and you saw him feed 5,000 people and you heard his teaching and you believed, I think this is the Son of God. And you were standing at the foot of the cross and they had nailed the Son of God to a tree, to a cross, and then you heard him say, father, into the hands I commit my spirit into the. And then you watched him breathe his last. Wouldn't you have the temptation to think, God, what are you doing? God, have you completely lost control? God, do you not love us? You let the Romans kill him. What are you doing? And yet, on this side of the Resurrection, we know exactly what God is doing. He's redeeming the world. That what we would have understood with that limited perspective on that day as the worst atrocity in the history of humanity was actually God's greatest plan. To demonstrate his love for his own glory and to redeem every single one of us. What was actually happening in that moment when it seemed like God wasn't answering our prayers and God wasn't doing what we thought he ought to do? What he was actually doing is God was so loving the world that he was giving his only begotten Son that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life. You see, here's the point, man. Oftentimes when we face a storm, the storm in us can be greater than the storm that we're in. And here's what's cool, man. Jesus can calm them both. Cause he has overcome all the storms. That's it, man. This is what Paul talks about. I talk about it all the time. In Philippians, chapter four, he says, be anxious for nothing. But by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your request known to God. And the peace of God that transcends understanding. Like maybe the waves are still rocking around you, but somehow God gives you a peace that doesn't even make sense on paper. That's what that means. And the peace of God that transcends understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. In John 16:33, Jesus says it this way. He says, I have said these things to you. That in me you may have peace. Leave that verse up there. Later, in Philippians, Paul the Apostle Paul says this. I have learned the secret of being content in any situation. Imagine having that kind of peace. Whether you're single or married or used to be married or want to be married, or maybe you're married and don't want to be married. Whatever your thing is, whether you got a bunch of kids and you got no kids and you want kids. Whatever it is, no matter what your financial situation is, no matter what the next doctor appointment says. Imagine for a second if you could have this, that you had learned the secret of being content. It is well in any situation. Jesus says, I have said these things that you could have that. That you could have peace. Now he does not promise cotton candy and Cadillacs and everything's just going to be awesome. He actually promises the other. In this world, you will have tribulation. Storms are coming. But take heart. That's another peace word. When you give your heart to Jesus, then He's going to give you his heart. And his heart is full of peace. Because when you look into the future, then you know that. You know that. You know that your circumstances don't rule. The sovereign King of the universe rules. And he says, but take heart. I have overcome the world. My friend Ryan Kwan, who has been through some kind of storm, man, he says this. If you worship something finite, it can't help you in the storm. It'll only sink with you. We need an infinite Christ who endured our storm. So what do you do when you find yourself in the storm? You look up, man. You fix your eyes on Jesus, the author, the perfecter of our faith. You look around, you need a band of brothers, a band of sisters that when your faith is diminishing, I get it, that you can borrow theirs, you can lean on theirs. The kind of folks that would pick up your mat and carry you to Him. You look forward. God's not done with you. There's something in you that he wants to develop, that he wants to use in the future. And you gotta trust him there. Then you look back. The best way to understand the faithfulness of God going forward is to look at how faithful he's been in the past. That all my life he has been faithful. All my life he's been so, so good. All the way back to the cross, where he demonstrated his love for me in this. That when I was screaming out with faithlessness, God, do you not even care? I'm perishing that Christ died for me and for you. And he says, take heart. I have come that you may have peace. Sometimes he'll calm the storm around you. But when you surrender your life to him, when you give it over to him, he will definitely calm the storm in you. Will you please stand? Let me pray for me. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, you know every circumstance, you know every situation. God, you know every medical thing and financial thing and relation thing. And God, you know all of our kids and what they're doing and not doing. God, you know the struggles between our ears, the struggles in our hearts. And God, I thank youk that yout are greater than all of them. God, I thank you that you've given us feelings and emotions to navigate this life. But, Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit, may we trust you more than we trust our feelings. And God, may we have more faith in the birds and the flowers. God, may we be actual believers that you're a good God. And we know that you're good because what you did on the cross for us and God, no matter what we're walking through, God, would you give us a sense of eternity and what that means? And it's not meaningless as compared to what it'll be like with you one day. It'll be light and momentary compared to forever and ever and ever and ever in your presence with no storms. And God, I thank you that you never waste a hurt. You are preparing for us an eternal glory. God, we don't even know what that means, but we know that you are good. And so, God, in the meantime, may we not put our faith in our circumstances, but may we receive the peace that Jesus, our sovereign Savior offers to us. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen. So we're going to respond and we're going to look up. That's a big part of what worship is. A big part of what worship is, is you take yourself out of the middle and you get your eyes up off of what's going on right now. And regardless of our circumstances, we say, jesus, you are worthy of my worship. And even if you don't feel like it, watch what begins to happen. Sometimes your heart can catch up with the true things. You're singing to God. And we worship and we look around, maybe you're in a storm right now, maybe grab a couple of people and be like, I need you to pray for me. And you come down here and you pray. And in your prayer you look forward and say, lord, I want to be a willing servant and follower of you, God. May you use this for your good in my life. And may you look back and fix your faith on the cross in the empty tomb. Let's sing, let's bring, let's pray, let's respond.