1 00:00:03,403 --> 00:00:05,638 God is good even when technology isn't right. 2 00:00:05,638 --> 00:00:08,541 David? Yes. Hey, quick show of hands. 3 00:00:08,541 --> 00:00:11,945 How many of you are list makers like you love a good checklist. 4 00:00:12,212 --> 00:00:14,180 You love? Yes. Going home depot? 5 00:00:14,180 --> 00:00:16,516 Got to have a list. Getting groceries. Gotta have a list. 6 00:00:16,516 --> 00:00:17,951 I am a list maker. 7 00:00:17,951 --> 00:00:22,555 I love the sense of accomplishment of checking items off the list as I go down. 8 00:00:22,589 --> 00:00:24,624 This, actually. 9 00:00:24,624 --> 00:00:25,091 Excuse me. 10 00:00:25,091 --> 00:00:30,430 This actually kind of organically came about for me when, back in 2021, 11 00:00:30,463 --> 00:00:33,466 our family actually started sitting down on Sunday nights 12 00:00:33,466 --> 00:00:35,702 and making out our schedules and coordinate 13 00:00:35,702 --> 00:00:38,038 our coordinating our schedules for the week. 14 00:00:38,038 --> 00:00:40,140 Does anybody else do that? 15 00:00:40,140 --> 00:00:42,108 Yeah, we're kind of we're kind of strange like that. 16 00:00:42,108 --> 00:00:43,977 This was not a like, hey everybody. 17 00:00:43,977 --> 00:00:46,780 Wouldn't it be fun if we all spent time making out our schedule? 18 00:00:46,780 --> 00:00:52,585 And this became about because the week was chaos and I finally had to go. 19 00:00:52,619 --> 00:00:53,153 All right. 20 00:00:53,153 --> 00:00:53,920 Enough of this. 21 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:58,491 I'm tired of finding out at 215 that somebody has to be at soccer practice 22 00:00:58,558 --> 00:00:59,259 at 230. 23 00:00:59,259 --> 00:01:01,494 We're going to sit down and make our schedules. 24 00:01:01,494 --> 00:01:06,199 And so I kind of just kept sort of took the next logical step, 25 00:01:06,232 --> 00:01:09,202 which was I took my days, my individual 26 00:01:09,202 --> 00:01:12,172 days, and I would go, okay, here's the non-negotiables for that day. 27 00:01:12,172 --> 00:01:16,076 If I get nothing else done, these three or these four, these seven things 28 00:01:16,076 --> 00:01:17,010 I need to get done. 29 00:01:17,010 --> 00:01:19,479 And so I just kind of started going down. 30 00:01:19,479 --> 00:01:21,748 I love a good checklist. 31 00:01:21,748 --> 00:01:25,151 I'll even do something crazy when I'm getting on an airplane. 32 00:01:25,151 --> 00:01:28,521 If that cockpit door is open and I can see the captain, I'll go. 33 00:01:28,555 --> 00:01:31,157 Hey, how's the preflight checklist going? 34 00:01:31,157 --> 00:01:33,026 Such a bad thing to say, right? 35 00:01:33,026 --> 00:01:35,695 He looks at me like, get out of here. 36 00:01:35,695 --> 00:01:36,830 I love a good list. 37 00:01:36,830 --> 00:01:38,998 And so a few weeks ago, 38 00:01:40,133 --> 00:01:42,802 a weekday afternoon, I was chugging through my lists, 39 00:01:42,802 --> 00:01:45,538 getting things checked off, getting tasks accomplished, 40 00:01:45,538 --> 00:01:48,641 and a notification came through on my phone. 41 00:01:48,641 --> 00:01:51,344 And I'm going to read it to you 42 00:01:51,344 --> 00:01:53,880 because I won't do it justice. 43 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:54,747 Bulletin. 44 00:01:54,747 --> 00:01:58,451 EA's activation requested tornado warning. 45 00:01:58,451 --> 00:02:02,188 National Weather Service, Hanford, California, at 2:19 p.m. 46 00:02:02,222 --> 00:02:06,693 Pacific Daylight Savings Time, Tuesday, April 21st, 2026. 47 00:02:06,759 --> 00:02:10,497 The National Weather Service in Hanford, California, has issued a first bullet 48 00:02:10,497 --> 00:02:15,902 point tornado warning for southwestern Madera County in central California. 49 00:02:15,935 --> 00:02:20,974 Central Fresno County in central California until 2:45 p.m.. 50 00:02:21,174 --> 00:02:23,977 At 219, a confirmed tornado was located over 51 00:02:23,977 --> 00:02:29,415 Biola, or nine miles west of Fresno, moving northeast at 15 miles an hour. 52 00:02:29,549 --> 00:02:32,452 Hazard damaging tornado source. 53 00:02:32,452 --> 00:02:35,722 Law enforcement confirmed impact 54 00:02:35,755 --> 00:02:38,925 flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. 55 00:02:38,958 --> 00:02:41,060 Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. 56 00:02:41,060 --> 00:02:44,063 Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. 57 00:02:44,097 --> 00:02:47,033 Tree damages likely precautionary preparedness. 58 00:02:47,033 --> 00:02:50,036 Actions to repeat or tornado is on the ground. 59 00:02:50,036 --> 00:02:51,171 Take cover now. 60 00:02:52,872 --> 00:02:53,373 If you live 61 00:02:53,373 --> 00:02:56,442 in the ranchos or are a resident of Madera County 62 00:02:56,442 --> 00:02:59,379 or really any place close by, you probably remember that day. 63 00:02:59,379 --> 00:03:00,747 You guys remember that? 64 00:03:00,747 --> 00:03:02,515 Yeah, I got that notification. 65 00:03:02,515 --> 00:03:06,519 It was actually even though I was taking I was getting my list done. 66 00:03:06,519 --> 00:03:10,490 This was we were going through some crazy family stuff at the time, 67 00:03:10,857 --> 00:03:13,459 and I actually had about 45 minutes where I was like, 68 00:03:13,459 --> 00:03:16,963 okay, I'm not going to take a nap because that just hurts when you wake up 69 00:03:16,963 --> 00:03:17,931 after that short of a nap. 70 00:03:17,931 --> 00:03:20,633 But I'm going to just lean my head back on the couch. 71 00:03:20,633 --> 00:03:21,534 I'm not going to lay down. 72 00:03:21,534 --> 00:03:23,903 Just leave my head back, rest my eyes. 73 00:03:23,903 --> 00:03:26,339 You know that that service alert comes through. 74 00:03:26,339 --> 00:03:29,042 I had people calling me, texting me after that. 75 00:03:29,042 --> 00:03:30,376 Hey, I hear there's a tornado. 76 00:03:30,376 --> 00:03:30,910 Are you guys. 77 00:03:30,910 --> 00:03:31,311 Are you. 78 00:03:31,311 --> 00:03:32,812 Are you still alive? Well, I'm talking to you. 79 00:03:32,812 --> 00:03:34,814 So, yeah, I'm still alive. 80 00:03:34,814 --> 00:03:36,282 And they're like, are you okay? 81 00:03:36,282 --> 00:03:39,519 And I'm looking at my phone and I looked outside and I'm like, yeah, 82 00:03:39,519 --> 00:03:41,154 it was raining. It was storming. 83 00:03:41,154 --> 00:03:43,056 But I'm like, no, I'm fine. 84 00:03:43,056 --> 00:03:44,958 It's just it's just a storm. 85 00:03:44,958 --> 00:03:46,659 It's not a tornado. 86 00:03:46,659 --> 00:03:50,897 My daughter had just started teaching at the high school, and to hear her 87 00:03:50,897 --> 00:03:54,133 hear her account of this story is hilarious 88 00:03:54,133 --> 00:03:57,337 because basically the kids aren't allowed to have their phones, 89 00:03:57,770 --> 00:04:02,475 but wherever they are all simultaneously started going off at the same time. 90 00:04:02,475 --> 00:04:03,343 Because even if they're on 91 00:04:03,343 --> 00:04:06,579 Do Not Disturb, that that alert comes through no matter what. 92 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:07,680 She said. 93 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,083 The kids freaked out right around the same time 94 00:04:10,083 --> 00:04:13,353 they got a call from admin saying, you guys ready for this phrase? 95 00:04:13,353 --> 00:04:14,954 This is going to be a blast from the past. 96 00:04:14,954 --> 00:04:15,788 Shelter in place. 97 00:04:15,788 --> 00:04:18,558 Do you guys remember that shelter in place? 98 00:04:18,558 --> 00:04:20,260 And so the kids had to hunker down. 99 00:04:20,260 --> 00:04:22,462 And even when the all clear was given, 100 00:04:22,462 --> 00:04:24,297 my daughter said there were a couple of kids, 101 00:04:24,297 --> 00:04:28,201 actually a group of kids that came up to her and I quote said this 102 00:04:28,668 --> 00:04:31,504 we can't focus. We're in emotional distress. 103 00:04:34,107 --> 00:04:37,076 I mean, come on, I don't mean 104 00:04:37,076 --> 00:04:40,880 to sound insensitive or dismissive, but that's funny stuff right there. 105 00:04:40,913 --> 00:04:43,916 We're in emotional distress and we can't focus 106 00:04:44,917 --> 00:04:48,855 anyway, we're going to come back to that story if we have not met. 107 00:04:48,921 --> 00:04:49,756 My name is Jeff. 108 00:04:49,756 --> 00:04:51,958 I'm on staff here at flipside. 109 00:04:51,958 --> 00:04:55,428 Pastor Carl is away this Memorial Day weekend enjoying some 110 00:04:55,628 --> 00:04:56,896 some time with family. 111 00:04:56,896 --> 00:04:58,865 And that means that you and I get to hang out. 112 00:04:58,865 --> 00:05:02,535 And I'm hoping you're going to be encouraged by what we talk about today. 113 00:05:02,535 --> 00:05:04,737 It may get a little rough going there in the middle, 114 00:05:04,737 --> 00:05:07,307 but I'm hoping we're going to we're going to end on a high note, 115 00:05:07,307 --> 00:05:10,310 and we're going to walk away with some encouragement. 116 00:05:10,510 --> 00:05:12,345 From the time we spend today 117 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:17,350 there, apparently our technology is completely frozen. 118 00:05:17,350 --> 00:05:20,320 So this is going to be up to you guys to kind of follow along with me. 119 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,722 We've been in this series 120 00:05:22,722 --> 00:05:26,159 where we're walking systematically through the Gospel of Matthew. 121 00:05:26,192 --> 00:05:27,894 We actually have not spent weeks. 122 00:05:27,894 --> 00:05:31,698 We've spent months walking through this series in the Gospel of Matthew. 123 00:05:31,731 --> 00:05:35,401 We were over at the high school for Easter walking through this series, 124 00:05:35,401 --> 00:05:40,039 and so it's been really, really fun to get to, 125 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,042 to unpack Scripture in this way. 126 00:05:43,042 --> 00:05:47,380 In this way, sometimes we we spend one Sunday on a chapter and then we move on. 127 00:05:47,380 --> 00:05:51,150 Other times we take 2 or 3 weeks for a single chapter. 128 00:05:51,150 --> 00:05:57,123 And so with our series last week, we actually kind of turned a corner. 129 00:05:58,057 --> 00:05:59,258 The previous weeks and actually 130 00:05:59,258 --> 00:06:04,197 previous month, Jesus was talking about these parables where 131 00:06:04,197 --> 00:06:08,634 he's unpacking what the kingdom of heaven looks like through these parables. 132 00:06:08,634 --> 00:06:09,736 And if you don't know what a parable 133 00:06:09,736 --> 00:06:14,540 is, it's just a made up story that's it's intended to impart wisdom. 134 00:06:14,540 --> 00:06:17,677 It's intended to impart insight into certain things. 135 00:06:17,677 --> 00:06:19,545 And of course, for Jesus, a certain thing. 136 00:06:19,545 --> 00:06:21,080 It's always the kingdom of God. 137 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,050 As a matter of fact, he would use that phrase 138 00:06:24,117 --> 00:06:27,120 the kingdom of God is like dot, dot, dot. 139 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:29,756 The kingdom of God is like dot, dot, dot. 140 00:06:29,756 --> 00:06:32,759 And then he'd unpack it. 141 00:06:32,825 --> 00:06:37,330 But last week we turned a corner and we're no longer in the parables 142 00:06:37,330 --> 00:06:41,701 we're now we've got our focus back on the disciples. 143 00:06:41,734 --> 00:06:44,370 The disciples are now front and center. 144 00:06:44,370 --> 00:06:46,906 And last week we talked about the feeding of the 5000. 145 00:06:46,906 --> 00:06:49,709 If you were here, you remember that how the disciples 146 00:06:49,709 --> 00:06:52,078 kind of got they kind of got even though they were back 147 00:06:52,078 --> 00:06:53,679 front and center, they kind of got a rebuke. 148 00:06:53,679 --> 00:06:55,882 They kind of got schooled when they said, 149 00:06:55,882 --> 00:06:58,317 hey, we stole this kid's lunch and you asked for food. 150 00:06:58,317 --> 00:07:00,987 This is all we got, but there's no way you can do anything with that. 151 00:07:00,987 --> 00:07:03,756 And Jesus is like, come on, guys, you take 152 00:07:03,756 --> 00:07:07,026 he takes the loaves and he takes the fish and he multiplies it. 153 00:07:07,026 --> 00:07:09,061 And miraculously, everybody's fed. 154 00:07:09,061 --> 00:07:10,062 And not only that, 155 00:07:10,062 --> 00:07:14,066 but each of the disciples walk away with a full basket of their own. 156 00:07:14,834 --> 00:07:19,071 And so the disciples are kind of reeling from that. 157 00:07:19,572 --> 00:07:23,676 As we've gone back to bringing them front and center, they kind of 158 00:07:23,709 --> 00:07:27,013 are just hanging on for dear life, as Jesus sort of 159 00:07:27,079 --> 00:07:30,082 takes them through this 160 00:07:30,116 --> 00:07:33,786 from classroom instruction, which was what the parables were to. 161 00:07:33,820 --> 00:07:37,890 Now we're out in the lab, we're doing lab work, and I think the disciples would 162 00:07:37,890 --> 00:07:40,893 go, yeah, and I feel like a lab rat. 163 00:07:41,260 --> 00:07:43,029 We're went from the classroom to the lab, 164 00:07:43,029 --> 00:07:46,866 and I'm the rat in the lab because I'm just hanging on for dear life. 165 00:07:46,866 --> 00:07:50,703 And as I read, as I'm reading these stories, 166 00:07:51,137 --> 00:07:54,073 it's really easy for me to look at what the disciples were doing 167 00:07:54,073 --> 00:07:57,777 and think, come on, you guys, where's your trust? 168 00:07:57,810 --> 00:07:59,178 Where's your faith? 169 00:07:59,178 --> 00:08:00,813 You guys just don't get it. 170 00:08:04,417 --> 00:08:07,320 It's really easy for me to read that and think that. 171 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:11,390 But if I'm being honest, when I look in the mirror spiritually, 172 00:08:11,457 --> 00:08:15,595 I'm a lot more like the disciples than I would care to admit. 173 00:08:16,662 --> 00:08:19,832 My faith can feel seasonal at best. 174 00:08:19,866 --> 00:08:23,536 It can feel like it comes in episode, it's episodic, 175 00:08:23,536 --> 00:08:26,839 or there's times where it's just not there at all. 176 00:08:27,773 --> 00:08:31,711 The faith that I say I have, when it comes time to go into the lab 177 00:08:31,711 --> 00:08:35,748 and put it to work, it just somehow I forget or it vanishes. 178 00:08:37,350 --> 00:08:39,018 It's really easy to think that. 179 00:08:39,018 --> 00:08:40,453 And here's the thing. 180 00:08:40,453 --> 00:08:42,121 We have the full story. 181 00:08:42,121 --> 00:08:44,423 We have the book, 182 00:08:44,423 --> 00:08:45,958 we know how it ends. 183 00:08:45,958 --> 00:08:49,996 So really, with the disciples at this point in the in Jesus's ministry, 184 00:08:49,996 --> 00:08:52,732 they're actually doing a lot better than I'm doing because, yeah, 185 00:08:52,732 --> 00:08:57,203 they have the promises they had, the assured, the assurance from Jesus. 186 00:08:57,203 --> 00:09:00,907 But really, the book was still being written literally and figuratively. 187 00:09:01,741 --> 00:09:05,745 And so in a way, the disciples are kind of when I mean, if we're going to play 188 00:09:05,745 --> 00:09:08,748 the comparison game compared to me, they're knocking it out of the park. 189 00:09:11,150 --> 00:09:13,119 We say it all the time, pretend like you're not in church. 190 00:09:13,119 --> 00:09:15,354 I think if we're being honest and pretend 191 00:09:15,354 --> 00:09:18,424 like we're not in church, I think we'd all admit there are moments 192 00:09:18,424 --> 00:09:22,061 or even seasons when our faith is just absent. 193 00:09:25,064 --> 00:09:27,900 We say we trust God when life is calm, 194 00:09:27,900 --> 00:09:32,738 but when those emergency service alerts of life come across 195 00:09:33,940 --> 00:09:36,509 our situation or come across our minds, 196 00:09:36,509 --> 00:09:39,946 our faith vanishes when the storms show up. 197 00:09:40,613 --> 00:09:43,616 Fear has a way of taking over. 198 00:09:44,250 --> 00:09:45,518 It was interesting as I. 199 00:09:45,518 --> 00:09:46,385 I don't even know why I have this. 200 00:09:46,385 --> 00:09:48,988 I'm not going to build the thumb through slides. 201 00:09:48,988 --> 00:09:51,624 As I prepared for this week, 202 00:09:51,624 --> 00:09:55,695 I realized one of the biggest challenges, if not the biggest challenge 203 00:09:55,695 --> 00:09:59,632 with preaching on a passage like we're going to talk about today 204 00:09:59,665 --> 00:10:03,135 is that it's so familiar, it's so familiar. 205 00:10:03,202 --> 00:10:03,736 It's like talk. 206 00:10:03,736 --> 00:10:06,339 It's like talking to Ranchos residents about coming to the Maywood Center. 207 00:10:06,339 --> 00:10:06,906 We've done that. 208 00:10:06,906 --> 00:10:08,174 We know. Move on. 209 00:10:08,174 --> 00:10:09,875 What else do you got for me? 210 00:10:09,875 --> 00:10:11,010 How many of you raise your hand 211 00:10:11,010 --> 00:10:14,013 if you've heard of the story of Jesus walking on water? 212 00:10:14,013 --> 00:10:16,082 Most of us have heard that story. 213 00:10:16,082 --> 00:10:19,852 Even if today is your first day ever coming to a church, 214 00:10:19,919 --> 00:10:22,722 you've probably heard that story. 215 00:10:22,722 --> 00:10:24,156 Maybe somebody drove you to a youth group 216 00:10:24,156 --> 00:10:27,293 when you were a teenager, or there was an old lady with flannel. 217 00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:30,563 Those little flannel pictures, do we even use those anymore? 218 00:10:30,763 --> 00:10:31,797 I don't think we use those anymore. 219 00:10:31,797 --> 00:10:34,233 Some of you, some of you younger people like, what is he talking about? 220 00:10:34,233 --> 00:10:38,037 But somehow there was a flannel picture of Jesus walking on water. 221 00:10:38,037 --> 00:10:38,871 Or maybe you, you know, 222 00:10:38,871 --> 00:10:41,774 color by numbers in the children's program because, you know, some family, 223 00:10:41,774 --> 00:10:44,543 you spent the night at their house and they drug you along. 224 00:10:44,543 --> 00:10:49,915 Most people have heard of the story of Jesus walking on water. 225 00:10:51,317 --> 00:10:51,917 When we 226 00:10:51,917 --> 00:10:54,920 hear that story, we think, yeah, Jesus walking on water. 227 00:10:55,621 --> 00:10:57,957 Can you get to something I haven't heard already? 228 00:10:57,957 --> 00:11:00,793 Because the implication is that if it's something new, 229 00:11:00,793 --> 00:11:04,530 it's going to be some new wisdom or some new concept 230 00:11:04,530 --> 00:11:06,298 that I'm going to be able to apply to my life. 231 00:11:06,298 --> 00:11:08,100 Hopefully that'll help me 232 00:11:08,100 --> 00:11:11,103 with the struggles that I keep coming back to over and over again. 233 00:11:12,438 --> 00:11:13,572 But really. 234 00:11:13,572 --> 00:11:14,674 So really, 235 00:11:14,674 --> 00:11:19,779 that familiarity can keep us from hearing what God is actually trying to say to us. 236 00:11:19,812 --> 00:11:24,016 One of the things I used to always tell the kids in the youth group is this word. 237 00:11:24,016 --> 00:11:25,718 God's word 238 00:11:25,718 --> 00:11:30,256 is unlike any other piece of literature you'll ever read or that you've ever read. 239 00:11:30,356 --> 00:11:32,892 It's unlike that. 240 00:11:32,892 --> 00:11:35,294 It's alive and it's breathing, 241 00:11:35,294 --> 00:11:39,999 and it will speak different things to you based on different times of your life. 242 00:11:40,066 --> 00:11:45,671 1418 2545 5575 243 00:11:45,705 --> 00:11:51,777 same passage, same book, same Bible, but it's going to speak to you differently 244 00:11:51,811 --> 00:11:55,481 based on the situation that you're in and basically the season in your life. 245 00:11:57,083 --> 00:11:58,551 And I think that's the case 246 00:11:58,551 --> 00:12:01,554 with the the verse and passage we're going to talk about today. 247 00:12:01,921 --> 00:12:05,391 Because buried inside this very familiar story is a 248 00:12:05,391 --> 00:12:08,494 is a core truth that confronts every one of us. 249 00:12:08,494 --> 00:12:12,398 And if we can get a handle on this, my guess is it's going to be a game changer 250 00:12:12,398 --> 00:12:13,265 for us. 251 00:12:13,265 --> 00:12:17,002 So I'm so thankful that God takes these things of our lives 252 00:12:17,002 --> 00:12:18,571 and says, I've got something for you, 253 00:12:18,571 --> 00:12:20,740 because a lot of times we don't look to God first. 254 00:12:20,740 --> 00:12:22,975 We look to the culture, and the culture is like, 255 00:12:22,975 --> 00:12:26,512 yeah, throw things against a wall and see if something sticks. 256 00:12:26,512 --> 00:12:29,548 And God's like, no, I've already talked about it. 257 00:12:29,548 --> 00:12:32,518 So that's what we're going to. That's what we're going to start off doing. 258 00:12:32,518 --> 00:12:35,521 We're actually going to start off in an interesting way. 259 00:12:36,522 --> 00:12:37,223 We're going to take a 260 00:12:37,223 --> 00:12:40,226 running start at our at our passage in Matthew 261 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:44,363 Little Bible Theology lesson 101. 262 00:12:44,363 --> 00:12:46,298 How many gospels are there? 263 00:12:46,298 --> 00:12:48,467 All right. Holding the cheat sheet up for you. 264 00:12:48,467 --> 00:12:49,835 Everybody say I'm ready. On your mark. 265 00:12:49,835 --> 00:12:52,838 Get set. Go! 266 00:12:52,905 --> 00:12:53,839 Very good. Matthew. 267 00:12:53,839 --> 00:12:55,241 Mark, Luke and John. I'm so good. 268 00:12:55,241 --> 00:12:58,010 That would have been cool if somebody list them in reverse order. 269 00:12:58,010 --> 00:13:01,614 You guys all listed them in the in the in the order that they're in in the Bible. 270 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:04,650 Yeah. Matthew. Mark, Luke and John. 271 00:13:04,784 --> 00:13:07,820 And so one of the things I always like to think about when, 272 00:13:07,820 --> 00:13:10,823 especially when I consider the gospels, 273 00:13:10,923 --> 00:13:15,060 there are other books in the Bible that can collections that this, 274 00:13:15,060 --> 00:13:19,532 this idea can be applied to, but specifically with the Gospels. 275 00:13:19,799 --> 00:13:24,036 I always like to imagine that I'm standing on the corner of a four way stop, 276 00:13:24,069 --> 00:13:27,373 and the easy analogy would be to say, imagine a car wreck. 277 00:13:27,506 --> 00:13:29,742 Well, a car wreck happens quick and it's chaotic. 278 00:13:29,742 --> 00:13:32,912 So what I like to say, the analogy I like to use is a parade. 279 00:13:32,945 --> 00:13:34,713 Imagine there's a parade passing 280 00:13:34,713 --> 00:13:38,751 through and it's moving slowly, and there's all this stuff going on. 281 00:13:38,751 --> 00:13:41,754 And since it's moving slowly, you might even be able to talk to people 282 00:13:41,754 --> 00:13:42,822 who are in the parade. 283 00:13:42,822 --> 00:13:47,293 And so I'm watching, I'm listening, and I'm writing down. 284 00:13:47,693 --> 00:13:51,096 And there's also somebody standing on the corner, 285 00:13:51,130 --> 00:13:54,600 catty corner from me, and they're witnessing the same event, 286 00:13:54,633 --> 00:13:55,634 same parade, 287 00:13:55,634 --> 00:13:57,736 and they're writing down what they're seeing, 288 00:13:57,736 --> 00:13:59,638 and they're writing down what they're hearing, 289 00:13:59,638 --> 00:14:02,241 and they're writing down the people that they talk to. 290 00:14:03,375 --> 00:14:06,145 And then also, there's a person right on that corner across from me 291 00:14:06,145 --> 00:14:09,148 and this corner across from me, and they're doing the same thing. 292 00:14:10,716 --> 00:14:13,652 Everyone sees the same parade, 293 00:14:13,652 --> 00:14:16,755 but from slightly different perspectives. 294 00:14:16,755 --> 00:14:20,159 And here's the wonderful thing about Scripture is there's an element 295 00:14:20,159 --> 00:14:23,162 that nothing else like that has, and that's the Holy Spirit. 296 00:14:24,196 --> 00:14:28,267 These all these guys writing this down were all being led by the Holy Spirit. 297 00:14:28,267 --> 00:14:29,535 So I want you to keep that in mind. 298 00:14:29,535 --> 00:14:31,370 As we as we kind of take a running start, 299 00:14:31,370 --> 00:14:33,906 we're actually not going to start in Matthew this morning. 300 00:14:33,906 --> 00:14:37,977 So if you brought your Bibles with you, turn to mark 301 00:14:38,477 --> 00:14:42,014 chapter six, verse 45. 302 00:14:43,015 --> 00:14:45,050 I'm so glad I didn't rely on my slides this morning. 303 00:14:45,050 --> 00:14:46,151 I'd have been cooked. 304 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:49,722 Mark chapter six. 305 00:14:49,722 --> 00:14:51,690 We're going to start in verse 45. 306 00:14:51,690 --> 00:14:53,626 So like I said, as you turn there. 307 00:14:53,626 --> 00:14:57,196 Jesus has just finished feeding the 5000. 308 00:14:57,229 --> 00:14:59,698 The disciples are like, what in the world just happened? 309 00:14:59,698 --> 00:15:01,400 I got this basket of bread and fish. 310 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:03,068 What do I do with this? 311 00:15:03,068 --> 00:15:07,673 And Jesus is like immediately is the first word in verse 45. 312 00:15:07,706 --> 00:15:10,943 It says, immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat 313 00:15:10,943 --> 00:15:13,946 and go on ahead of him to to. 314 00:15:14,013 --> 00:15:16,015 While he dismissed the crowd. 315 00:15:16,015 --> 00:15:18,984 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. 316 00:15:18,984 --> 00:15:20,252 Later that night 317 00:15:20,252 --> 00:15:23,522 the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 318 00:15:23,555 --> 00:15:28,494 He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them. 319 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,231 Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. 320 00:15:32,331 --> 00:15:36,068 He was about to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the lake, 321 00:15:36,101 --> 00:15:37,670 they thought he was a ghost. 322 00:15:37,670 --> 00:15:40,673 They cried out because they all saw him and were terrified. 323 00:15:40,739 --> 00:15:43,375 Immediately he spoke to them and said, take courage. 324 00:15:43,375 --> 00:15:45,678 It is. I don't be afraid. 325 00:15:45,678 --> 00:15:49,748 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. 326 00:15:49,748 --> 00:15:51,617 They were completely amazed. 327 00:15:51,617 --> 00:15:53,986 So that's Mark's take on it. 328 00:15:53,986 --> 00:15:55,721 We're going to talk about how Mark came 329 00:15:55,721 --> 00:15:59,258 to came to get that information in a minute. 330 00:15:59,558 --> 00:16:04,096 But I actually want to turn and look at John's account of that, 331 00:16:04,096 --> 00:16:07,800 because John's the other gospel who writes about Jesus walking on water. 332 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:10,469 And John was actually one of the 12, so he was there. 333 00:16:10,469 --> 00:16:11,904 Let's see what he has to say. 334 00:16:11,904 --> 00:16:16,508 We're going to start in John chapter six, verse 16. 335 00:16:19,378 --> 00:16:22,414 Interestingly, John actually talks about feeding the 5000 as well. 336 00:16:22,414 --> 00:16:25,751 And so starting out in verse 16, he says, when evening came, 337 00:16:25,751 --> 00:16:29,822 his disciples went down to the lake where they got into a boat and set off 338 00:16:29,822 --> 00:16:33,225 across the lake for Capernaum, two different names, same place. 339 00:16:34,426 --> 00:16:38,063 By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 340 00:16:38,097 --> 00:16:39,431 A strong wind was blowing in. 341 00:16:39,431 --> 00:16:42,735 The waters grew rough when they had road about 3 or 4 miles, 342 00:16:42,735 --> 00:16:44,636 they saw Jesus approaching the boat, 343 00:16:44,636 --> 00:16:47,239 walking on the water, and they were frightened. 344 00:16:47,239 --> 00:16:48,640 But he said to them, it is. 345 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:50,442 I don't be afraid. 346 00:16:50,442 --> 00:16:51,944 Then they were willing to take him. 347 00:16:51,944 --> 00:16:53,979 I bet they were willing to take him into the boat. 348 00:16:53,979 --> 00:16:57,983 And immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. 349 00:16:58,150 --> 00:17:02,388 So we got Mark, and we got John 350 00:17:02,388 --> 00:17:06,825 standing on different street corners, telling their perspective of this story. 351 00:17:07,659 --> 00:17:09,695 The disciples are in a storm. 352 00:17:09,695 --> 00:17:11,864 Jesus comes walking on the water. 353 00:17:11,864 --> 00:17:13,832 They're terrified. 354 00:17:13,832 --> 00:17:15,734 Jesus is the same thing. In both accounts. 355 00:17:15,734 --> 00:17:16,835 He says, take courage. 356 00:17:16,835 --> 00:17:17,736 It's me. 357 00:17:17,736 --> 00:17:21,106 Don't be afraid. So far, so good right 358 00:17:22,374 --> 00:17:24,143 now. Let's go to Matthew. 359 00:17:24,143 --> 00:17:25,711 Back to our series. 360 00:17:25,711 --> 00:17:28,714 We're going to start in verse 14. Sorry. 361 00:17:28,947 --> 00:17:31,950 Start in chapter 14, verse 22. 362 00:17:33,318 --> 00:17:36,021 They all start out using the same word two immediately. 363 00:17:36,021 --> 00:17:38,057 Jesus doesn't even give them time to catch their breath. 364 00:17:38,057 --> 00:17:39,658 He's like, let's go! 365 00:17:39,658 --> 00:17:42,795 Immediately, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat 366 00:17:42,795 --> 00:17:44,997 and go on ahead of him to the other side. 367 00:17:44,997 --> 00:17:48,233 While he dismissed the crowd after he had dismissed them, 368 00:17:48,233 --> 00:17:51,003 he went up on the mountainside by himself to pray. 369 00:17:51,003 --> 00:17:54,940 Later that night he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable 370 00:17:54,940 --> 00:17:59,144 distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 371 00:17:59,278 --> 00:18:02,948 Shortly after dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 372 00:18:02,948 --> 00:18:06,385 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 373 00:18:06,418 --> 00:18:09,021 It's a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. 374 00:18:09,021 --> 00:18:12,024 But Jesus immediately said to them, take courage. 375 00:18:12,024 --> 00:18:15,227 It is. I don't be afraid. So far so good. 376 00:18:15,761 --> 00:18:18,864 All right. Verse 28, Lord, if it's you. 377 00:18:18,897 --> 00:18:21,867 Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. 378 00:18:21,867 --> 00:18:23,469 Come, he said. 379 00:18:23,469 --> 00:18:26,872 Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came 380 00:18:26,872 --> 00:18:27,673 toward Jesus. 381 00:18:27,673 --> 00:18:31,143 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, 382 00:18:31,143 --> 00:18:34,146 and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me! 383 00:18:34,346 --> 00:18:36,949 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 384 00:18:36,949 --> 00:18:39,384 You have little faith, he said. Why did you doubt? 385 00:18:39,384 --> 00:18:41,019 And when they climbed into the boat, 386 00:18:41,019 --> 00:18:44,256 the wind died down, and those who were in the boat worshiped 387 00:18:44,256 --> 00:18:47,559 him, saying, truly, you are the Son of God. 388 00:18:49,094 --> 00:18:51,797 Three accounts. 389 00:18:51,797 --> 00:18:54,800 What's different with Matthew's account? 390 00:18:56,435 --> 00:18:58,737 What's the difference? 391 00:18:58,737 --> 00:19:00,072 Peter? 392 00:19:00,072 --> 00:19:02,274 Peter's the difference. 393 00:19:02,274 --> 00:19:04,776 Mark. No mention of it. John. 394 00:19:04,776 --> 00:19:05,777 No mention of it. 395 00:19:05,777 --> 00:19:08,213 Luke doesn't even tell this story. 396 00:19:08,213 --> 00:19:10,782 For whatever reason. He's like, I'm just going to leave that part out. 397 00:19:10,782 --> 00:19:13,352 But, Matthew, 398 00:19:13,352 --> 00:19:16,555 it's like, I'm gonna give you a little bit more. 399 00:19:16,855 --> 00:19:20,025 One of the things I do when I read Scripture is 400 00:19:20,025 --> 00:19:24,096 I like to think of the backstory, what was going on, and I like to speculate 401 00:19:24,096 --> 00:19:27,232 a little bit, because one of the things when I read, you know, 402 00:19:27,299 --> 00:19:31,203 the Bible, it's the holy Word of God inspired all that is true. 403 00:19:31,203 --> 00:19:32,771 But these are actually real people. 404 00:19:32,771 --> 00:19:35,774 And I've hung out with dudes before and I know how we are. 405 00:19:37,176 --> 00:19:39,011 I wonder how this went down. 406 00:19:39,011 --> 00:19:44,416 I wonder how it came to be that Matthew's the only guy who wrote about Peter 407 00:19:45,450 --> 00:19:46,185 in this account. 408 00:19:46,185 --> 00:19:49,188 He's the only guy who wrote about Peter. 409 00:19:50,522 --> 00:19:52,357 John, I just 410 00:19:52,357 --> 00:19:55,827 I wonder if there was a conversation between Peter and John. 411 00:19:55,827 --> 00:19:58,830 And Peter was like, John, 412 00:19:59,198 --> 00:20:00,599 we were there. 413 00:20:00,599 --> 00:20:01,400 You saw it, 414 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,504 I saw it, a lot of people saw it, but there's no reason to write about it. 415 00:20:05,504 --> 00:20:09,474 This is one more of my of the times when I opened my mouth, 416 00:20:09,474 --> 00:20:11,510 because Peter was doing that all the time. 417 00:20:11,510 --> 00:20:12,077 You guys know 418 00:20:12,077 --> 00:20:13,812 somebody who opens their mouth 419 00:20:13,812 --> 00:20:16,114 and then thinks about what they're going to say later. 420 00:20:16,114 --> 00:20:18,550 Maybe you are that somebody. 421 00:20:18,550 --> 00:20:20,319 Peter was always doing that. 422 00:20:20,319 --> 00:20:21,353 It was just like, 423 00:20:21,353 --> 00:20:23,922 and then you had that out-of-body experience where you like, 424 00:20:23,922 --> 00:20:26,358 look at yourself and go, did you just say that? 425 00:20:26,358 --> 00:20:27,459 That was Peter, 426 00:20:28,460 --> 00:20:29,828 and I wonder if 427 00:20:29,828 --> 00:20:33,599 he got together with John and said, John, I know you're writing about this. 428 00:20:33,632 --> 00:20:36,235 Can you just please do me a solid and leave that part out? 429 00:20:36,235 --> 00:20:37,703 We don't need to talk about that. 430 00:20:37,703 --> 00:20:39,438 It did not end well for me. 431 00:20:39,438 --> 00:20:40,639 I opened my mouth before 432 00:20:40,639 --> 00:20:44,309 I thought didn't really go the way I thought it was going to go. 433 00:20:44,443 --> 00:20:47,412 Maybe John was like, sure, I'll leave that part out. 434 00:20:48,347 --> 00:20:50,349 Mark and Luke weren't there. 435 00:20:50,349 --> 00:20:54,152 They actually wrote down what they saw from eyewitness testimony of others. 436 00:20:54,152 --> 00:20:57,589 Do you guys know who who whose informant was Mark 437 00:20:58,223 --> 00:21:01,226 or who was Mark's informant 438 00:21:01,426 --> 00:21:03,028 was Peter. 439 00:21:03,028 --> 00:21:05,430 I can just wonder if Peter's like Mark. 440 00:21:05,430 --> 00:21:09,301 The only way I'm going to do this interview is if you leave that part out. 441 00:21:09,701 --> 00:21:11,970 Mark's like, okay, I got you. 442 00:21:14,039 --> 00:21:15,540 Matthew was there. 443 00:21:15,540 --> 00:21:19,478 Matthew was in the same boat, literally and figuratively that John was. 444 00:21:19,511 --> 00:21:22,514 And I just wonder if Peter was like John or 445 00:21:23,782 --> 00:21:24,349 thank you. 446 00:21:24,349 --> 00:21:25,751 Matthew, leave that part out. 447 00:21:25,751 --> 00:21:27,219 And Matthew's like, okay. 448 00:21:27,219 --> 00:21:30,222 And then he turns around, he's like. 449 00:21:30,922 --> 00:21:31,690 And writes it down. 450 00:21:31,690 --> 00:21:33,058 Some of you guys have kids that do that. 451 00:21:33,058 --> 00:21:33,959 Okay, I'll do that. 452 00:21:33,959 --> 00:21:36,962 And then they do the exact opposite 453 00:21:37,029 --> 00:21:38,430 for whatever reason. 454 00:21:38,430 --> 00:21:42,301 Maybe it was just divine inspiration from the Holy Spirit that caused Matthew 455 00:21:42,301 --> 00:21:43,135 to leave this part in. 456 00:21:43,135 --> 00:21:45,671 But for whatever reason, he leaves it in. 457 00:21:45,671 --> 00:21:49,074 And I'm so glad that he does. 458 00:21:53,111 --> 00:21:54,413 Peter says, Lord, 459 00:21:54,413 --> 00:21:57,482 if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water. 460 00:21:58,784 --> 00:22:01,420 And then Jesus says, what 461 00:22:01,420 --> 00:22:04,990 one word says, come, come on out, let's go. 462 00:22:05,657 --> 00:22:08,760 I would have liked to have thought that Peter was like, 463 00:22:10,028 --> 00:22:12,030 what? 464 00:22:12,030 --> 00:22:15,033 Not the answer I was expecting. 465 00:22:17,736 --> 00:22:19,237 I'm so glad that 466 00:22:19,237 --> 00:22:22,974 that Jesus didn't go, oh, hold on a minute. 467 00:22:23,041 --> 00:22:24,910 I'm Jesus. 468 00:22:24,910 --> 00:22:25,677 You're not. 469 00:22:25,677 --> 00:22:28,313 I do things like this. 470 00:22:28,313 --> 00:22:31,216 You don't stay there. 471 00:22:31,216 --> 00:22:32,784 I'll handle it. 472 00:22:32,784 --> 00:22:35,787 Pull you guys out of a situation 473 00:22:36,388 --> 00:22:37,823 once again. 474 00:22:37,823 --> 00:22:40,258 Because that's what I do. 475 00:22:40,258 --> 00:22:41,893 Jesus didn't say that. 476 00:22:41,893 --> 00:22:45,030 He invited Peter into the storm. 477 00:22:45,030 --> 00:22:49,000 The very place Peter feared was the place it became. 478 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,970 The place Jesus called him to be. 479 00:22:54,072 --> 00:22:55,307 This is the big idea. 480 00:22:55,307 --> 00:22:57,776 I wanted to flash it up in the screen, but you're going to have to write it down. 481 00:22:57,776 --> 00:22:58,877 If you're writing things down. 482 00:22:58,877 --> 00:23:01,012 We're going to keep it real simple. It's Memorial Day weekend. 483 00:23:01,012 --> 00:23:05,317 We don't know how it want to have too much to keep on our theological plate. 484 00:23:05,317 --> 00:23:08,720 One core idea, and that is this 485 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:13,024 the storms of life are invitations to step out in faith. 486 00:23:13,492 --> 00:23:18,630 These storms of life, or invitations to step out in faith. 487 00:23:18,630 --> 00:23:21,199 I almost wrote down on my notes opportunities. 488 00:23:21,199 --> 00:23:26,238 They are, but they're opportunities that are buried inside an invitation. 489 00:23:26,271 --> 00:23:27,839 They're an invite. 490 00:23:27,839 --> 00:23:32,677 These storms of life are invitations to step out in faith. 491 00:23:33,745 --> 00:23:36,381 The storm wasn't just an obstacle. 492 00:23:36,381 --> 00:23:39,384 The storm became an opportunity. 493 00:23:42,754 --> 00:23:45,857 In in movies and in theater, there's this thing called 494 00:23:45,891 --> 00:23:48,493 there's this idea or this concept called breaking the Fourth Wall. 495 00:23:48,493 --> 00:23:52,063 Some of you may have heard about it, and I love it when movies do that, 496 00:23:52,063 --> 00:23:55,600 because what they do it right, I'm like, oh, that was so good. 497 00:23:55,867 --> 00:23:57,135 What happens when they break? 498 00:23:57,135 --> 00:24:00,071 The fourth wall is you have a main character 499 00:24:00,071 --> 00:24:03,675 and he's having a dialog with another character, or maybe a set of characters. 500 00:24:03,675 --> 00:24:08,380 And as they're dialoging back and forth, there comes a time where that invisible 501 00:24:08,380 --> 00:24:08,947 fourth wall 502 00:24:08,947 --> 00:24:10,982 between the camera or the audience gets broken 503 00:24:10,982 --> 00:24:12,951 and the main character will turn and he'll talk. 504 00:24:12,951 --> 00:24:15,220 So they're talking, and all the rest of the scene 505 00:24:15,220 --> 00:24:17,522 will fall silent, and the main character will go. 506 00:24:17,522 --> 00:24:21,693 What these guys don't understand is that when I say, you know, he unpacks it. 507 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:23,428 And when movies do this, I love it. 508 00:24:23,428 --> 00:24:27,032 It's such a great way to to do movies and theater. 509 00:24:28,667 --> 00:24:30,035 And so you've got 510 00:24:30,035 --> 00:24:34,639 Peter over here who opens his mouth and says, Lord, if it's you. 511 00:24:34,673 --> 00:24:37,676 I don't even know if it's you, if it's you, it's truly you. 512 00:24:38,376 --> 00:24:39,878 Tell me to come to you and I'll come. 513 00:24:39,878 --> 00:24:42,914 And Jesus says, come. 514 00:24:42,914 --> 00:24:47,219 And then he breaks the fourth wall and he says, and you two, and you two, 515 00:24:47,219 --> 00:24:52,891 and you two and me to come on that place you're afraid of. 516 00:24:52,891 --> 00:24:54,192 I'm already here. 517 00:24:54,192 --> 00:24:57,195 Come on out. 518 00:24:59,331 --> 00:25:03,101 This should not have been a surprise for these guys. 519 00:25:03,101 --> 00:25:05,303 We actually talked about it in our series in Matthew. 520 00:25:05,303 --> 00:25:09,107 Turn to chapter eight, Matthew chapter eight, 521 00:25:09,474 --> 00:25:12,477 verse 23, starting their. 522 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,650 Been a few weeks since we were in that chapter. 523 00:25:19,384 --> 00:25:22,821 Starting in verse 23, it says, then he got into the boat 524 00:25:22,921 --> 00:25:24,923 and his disciples followed him. 525 00:25:24,923 --> 00:25:27,425 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake 526 00:25:27,425 --> 00:25:29,661 so that the waves swept over the boat. 527 00:25:29,661 --> 00:25:32,297 Jesus was sleeping. Sound familiar? 528 00:25:32,297 --> 00:25:33,465 Jesus was sleeping. 529 00:25:33,465 --> 00:25:38,770 The disciples went and woke him, saying, Lord, save us, we're going to drown. 530 00:25:39,104 --> 00:25:42,340 He replied, you of little faith, why are you so afraid? 531 00:25:42,340 --> 00:25:47,379 Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and it was completely calm. 532 00:25:47,546 --> 00:25:50,415 The men were amazed and asked, what kind of man is this? 533 00:25:50,415 --> 00:25:53,718 Even the winds and the waves obey him. 534 00:25:56,354 --> 00:25:59,190 Why are you afraid? 535 00:25:59,190 --> 00:26:00,492 Why are you so afraid? 536 00:26:00,492 --> 00:26:02,260 Where is your faith? Same lake. 537 00:26:02,260 --> 00:26:04,362 Maybe even the same boat. 538 00:26:04,362 --> 00:26:07,732 Same fear, same lesson. 539 00:26:10,402 --> 00:26:12,270 Fear says step back. 540 00:26:12,270 --> 00:26:13,772 Fear says stay put. 541 00:26:13,772 --> 00:26:16,775 Fear says be afraid. 542 00:26:16,975 --> 00:26:20,512 Faith says step out, step out. 543 00:26:22,180 --> 00:26:25,183 Storms have a way of finding all of us. 544 00:26:25,984 --> 00:26:26,618 Fiercest. 545 00:26:26,618 --> 00:26:29,621 Step out that place that we're afraid to go. 546 00:26:30,655 --> 00:26:33,658 Jesus could possibly be already there 547 00:26:34,793 --> 00:26:38,163 in the chair, backs in front of you, or on the chairs beside you. 548 00:26:38,163 --> 00:26:42,100 Or maybe when you sat, when you sat down, there was an invite card. 549 00:26:42,133 --> 00:26:44,469 Pull that out. It's in the chair back in front of you. 550 00:26:44,469 --> 00:26:47,539 You may have to search for it because it's behind the the envelope. 551 00:26:47,706 --> 00:26:51,710 I think there might be some extras around here if you don't get one there. 552 00:26:51,843 --> 00:26:53,345 They're available on the way out. 553 00:26:54,346 --> 00:26:55,313 It's an invite card. 554 00:26:55,313 --> 00:26:58,850 Remember back in elementary school when you get invited to a birthday party, 555 00:26:59,751 --> 00:27:01,453 if you turn it over, it says you're invited. 556 00:27:01,453 --> 00:27:04,756 Grab a pen and write four words in the two, the box that says two, 557 00:27:04,756 --> 00:27:08,460 or the line that says to you are invited to step out in faith, right? 558 00:27:08,460 --> 00:27:10,428 That there, 559 00:27:10,428 --> 00:27:14,466 because the storms of life have a way of finding all of us. 560 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,403 And sometimes we need a reminder 561 00:27:19,471 --> 00:27:22,741 because we sit here and at 72 and fluorescent 562 00:27:22,741 --> 00:27:27,612 and we are breathing nice and easy and nothing weird is getting squirrely 563 00:27:27,612 --> 00:27:29,948 unless all our phones go off. Wouldn't that be hilarious? Fall. 564 00:27:29,948 --> 00:27:31,583 Our phones went off right now. 565 00:27:31,583 --> 00:27:33,518 It's a beautiful day, so chances are no. 566 00:27:33,518 --> 00:27:38,223 But when we go out and we start doing the lab work, 567 00:27:38,256 --> 00:27:43,228 the storms have a way of finding us for the when and the where. 568 00:27:43,261 --> 00:27:45,063 Some of you already know the answer to that 569 00:27:45,063 --> 00:27:48,800 because your storm started last week, or last year or last month. 570 00:27:49,267 --> 00:27:50,335 That's your win. 571 00:27:50,335 --> 00:27:53,338 Where you know exactly where at work 572 00:27:53,705 --> 00:27:56,775 in your marriage and your relationships and your parenting. 573 00:27:56,908 --> 00:28:01,312 That's where I almost took out the line that says RSVP 574 00:28:01,312 --> 00:28:04,549 because I thought, why would I want to leave that in there? 575 00:28:04,549 --> 00:28:07,619 Well, the fact is, we can decline these invitations. 576 00:28:08,186 --> 00:28:11,756 I declined that invitation for a long, long time. 577 00:28:11,823 --> 00:28:12,857 I'm good. 578 00:28:12,857 --> 00:28:14,959 I'm going to keep straining at the oars. 579 00:28:16,261 --> 00:28:16,795 Do you notice 580 00:28:16,795 --> 00:28:21,032 in Mark's account it was right before dawn. 581 00:28:21,199 --> 00:28:24,402 Some other translations call it the fourth watch. 582 00:28:25,036 --> 00:28:28,039 They had been at it for a while. 583 00:28:28,306 --> 00:28:29,174 That storm. 584 00:28:29,174 --> 00:28:32,310 They were fighting that storm for a long time. 585 00:28:33,611 --> 00:28:37,415 And all of a sudden Jesus is in it and he invites them out into it. 586 00:28:37,415 --> 00:28:39,918 This is the thing we've been trying to avoid all night long. 587 00:28:39,918 --> 00:28:41,419 And you're saying, come on out. 588 00:28:41,419 --> 00:28:43,254 And Jesus says, yep. Why? 589 00:28:43,254 --> 00:28:46,257 Because I'm already here. 590 00:28:47,792 --> 00:28:49,561 When it comes. 591 00:28:49,561 --> 00:28:53,431 When the storms come, the invitation of Jesus is not to stay in the boat. 592 00:28:53,431 --> 00:28:57,402 The invitation is to come, and our instinct is not to come. 593 00:28:57,435 --> 00:29:00,171 Our instinct is to stay put. It's to step back. 594 00:29:00,171 --> 00:29:03,508 And fear has a weird way of morphing into other things, 595 00:29:03,541 --> 00:29:06,010 kind of like fruit sitting on the counter and rotting. 596 00:29:06,010 --> 00:29:07,312 It just doesn't stay there. 597 00:29:07,312 --> 00:29:11,783 Fear has a way of morphing into things like bitterness and anxiety, 598 00:29:11,916 --> 00:29:15,253 envy, frustration, hopelessness. 599 00:29:16,454 --> 00:29:19,057 Stepping back just puts us in fear. 600 00:29:19,057 --> 00:29:22,060 And Jesus says, don't be afraid. 601 00:29:23,027 --> 00:29:24,395 I want to propose this to you. 602 00:29:24,395 --> 00:29:27,866 What if the place you least want to go is the exact place 603 00:29:27,866 --> 00:29:30,869 Jesus is inviting you to trust him? 604 00:29:32,003 --> 00:29:34,973 What if that storm, 605 00:29:35,340 --> 00:29:38,443 that is the item you wrote down on that invite, is the place 606 00:29:38,443 --> 00:29:41,412 Jesus is inviting you to step out and to trust him. 607 00:29:44,949 --> 00:29:47,852 One of the things I used to tell the youth all the time. 608 00:29:47,852 --> 00:29:48,920 There were a lot of athletes 609 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,790 in one of the one of the years that we were doing it, and I said, 610 00:29:51,790 --> 00:29:53,858 do you guys understand this on a physical level? 611 00:29:53,858 --> 00:29:57,061 How do you guys not get this on a spiritual and a relational level? 612 00:29:57,095 --> 00:30:00,698 None of you would go to the gym and then wake up saw the next day and go, 613 00:30:00,865 --> 00:30:02,500 I'm never doing that again. 614 00:30:03,902 --> 00:30:06,437 You expect it 615 00:30:06,437 --> 00:30:08,907 spiritually, relationally. 616 00:30:08,907 --> 00:30:11,109 Paul talks about this in his letter to the Romans. 617 00:30:11,109 --> 00:30:14,112 He says suffering has a result. 618 00:30:15,180 --> 00:30:18,616 The saw muscles of suffering are a thing called perseverance, 619 00:30:19,184 --> 00:30:23,154 and perseverance leads to this thing that everybody wants. 620 00:30:23,154 --> 00:30:24,322 And that's character. 621 00:30:24,322 --> 00:30:29,460 And character leads to the ultimate thing that everybody really wants, 622 00:30:29,460 --> 00:30:32,463 and that's hope. 623 00:30:32,997 --> 00:30:36,467 And unfortunately, I remember telling this group of of boys 624 00:30:36,467 --> 00:30:41,072 at youth group one night, I said, guys, I wish it were not like this. 625 00:30:41,072 --> 00:30:44,075 I wish there were some other way. 626 00:30:44,075 --> 00:30:49,113 But sometimes these storms of life are the only way we grow. 627 00:30:49,214 --> 00:30:52,116 And it really does suck because you strain at the oars. 628 00:30:52,116 --> 00:30:55,220 But when you realize that Jesus is out in the middle of it saying, 629 00:30:55,220 --> 00:30:58,556 come, that can be the difference maker, 630 00:30:59,657 --> 00:31:00,658 not stay put. 631 00:31:00,658 --> 00:31:02,794 Not all. See you eventually. Come out. 632 00:31:02,794 --> 00:31:05,797 Come out and follow me. 633 00:31:07,999 --> 00:31:09,634 Imagine what would change if we 634 00:31:09,634 --> 00:31:12,637 if we became people who stepped out in faith. 635 00:31:12,737 --> 00:31:17,642 What if we reframed the storms of life as something to survive? 636 00:31:17,675 --> 00:31:20,612 Because if we're being honest, a lot of us approach those storms like that. 637 00:31:20,612 --> 00:31:22,947 Just get through it by hook or crook. 638 00:31:22,947 --> 00:31:25,416 Make it happen. Just. I didn't expect it. 639 00:31:25,416 --> 00:31:26,584 How do I hunker down? 640 00:31:26,584 --> 00:31:29,954 How do I strain at the oars long enough to just get through this? 641 00:31:29,988 --> 00:31:33,992 What if we reframed the storm from something 642 00:31:34,025 --> 00:31:37,595 to survive into the place where Jesus is already present? 643 00:31:38,096 --> 00:31:39,530 I think it would change our marriages. 644 00:31:39,530 --> 00:31:41,199 I think it would change our parenting. 645 00:31:41,199 --> 00:31:44,202 I think it would change the way we related to people at work 646 00:31:44,636 --> 00:31:47,639 anxieties, disappointments. 647 00:31:47,639 --> 00:31:51,042 Instead of stepping back, we stepped out in faith. 648 00:31:53,144 --> 00:31:54,412 The place we fear the most. 649 00:31:54,412 --> 00:31:57,916 Maybe, maybe the very place Jesus is already standing saying, come. 650 00:31:57,949 --> 00:31:58,917 I'm so thankful 651 00:31:58,917 --> 00:32:03,554 that Matthew included this in his gospel for whatever reason he did. 652 00:32:03,554 --> 00:32:06,357 And I'm so thankful 653 00:32:06,357 --> 00:32:08,993 this you guys, this screw up, this Peter screw up 654 00:32:08,993 --> 00:32:11,996 because he actually did get out of the boat, right? 655 00:32:12,463 --> 00:32:13,731 He got out of the boat. 656 00:32:13,731 --> 00:32:14,832 It was ugly. 657 00:32:14,832 --> 00:32:18,469 It was not the way I'm sure he probably was like, okay, let's do it. 658 00:32:18,469 --> 00:32:21,739 And when he started to do it, maybe he thought, wow, this is really cool. 659 00:32:22,173 --> 00:32:25,944 And then it just slid off the rails because he started focusing on the wind 660 00:32:25,944 --> 00:32:28,947 and he started focusing on the waves, and his fear took back over. 661 00:32:29,914 --> 00:32:32,850 But he did it. 662 00:32:32,850 --> 00:32:35,320 When I get to heaven, I'm not going to ask 663 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:37,622 any of the other disciples what it was like to walk on water. 664 00:32:37,622 --> 00:32:40,058 If I did, John would be like, you got the wrong disciple. 665 00:32:40,058 --> 00:32:41,559 You need to go to Peter. 666 00:32:41,559 --> 00:32:46,230 Peter, what was it like to walk on water, to be the only other human 667 00:32:46,230 --> 00:32:51,135 being in the history of human beings, to walk on water and to hear that story? 668 00:32:51,202 --> 00:32:52,303 It's fantastic. 669 00:32:52,303 --> 00:32:54,906 Imagine stepping off into your pool and you don't sink. 670 00:32:54,906 --> 00:32:57,075 And then you take another step and you don't sink, 671 00:32:57,075 --> 00:32:58,109 and then you take another step. 672 00:32:58,109 --> 00:33:01,612 And you don't think he was the only one who did that? 673 00:33:01,713 --> 00:33:04,315 Yeah, it got squirrely at the end. But so what? 674 00:33:05,984 --> 00:33:09,387 When we step out in faith, it's not going to be perfect. 675 00:33:09,387 --> 00:33:12,390 But that's no reason to not do it. 676 00:33:13,024 --> 00:33:15,259 This wouldn't even be Peter's biggest screw up. 677 00:33:15,259 --> 00:33:18,696 I'd like to wonder if Peter was like, okay, that went bad. 678 00:33:18,763 --> 00:33:21,933 At least we used to say it in youth group all the time. 679 00:33:22,100 --> 00:33:23,334 What could possibly go wrong? 680 00:33:23,334 --> 00:33:24,936 What could get any worse? 681 00:33:24,936 --> 00:33:28,539 Well, you got to come back for chapter 26 because it actually Peter. 682 00:33:28,573 --> 00:33:29,974 Peter keeps doing what he does. 683 00:33:29,974 --> 00:33:33,411 But for our story today, it's a lesson for all of us. 684 00:33:33,945 --> 00:33:35,146 From Peter's failure. 685 00:33:35,146 --> 00:33:38,983 It extends the invitation to all of us to step out in faith. 686 00:33:39,017 --> 00:33:42,387 Take that card, take it home with you, put it on your 687 00:33:43,054 --> 00:33:46,357 refrigerator, put it on your bathroom, or put it on the dashboard or your car 688 00:33:46,391 --> 00:33:47,091 anywhere. 689 00:33:47,091 --> 00:33:49,660 You need to be reminded. Because my guess is, 690 00:33:49,660 --> 00:33:52,830 at some point this week, you're going to need to be reminded. 691 00:33:54,532 --> 00:33:55,233 And before we 692 00:33:55,233 --> 00:33:58,236 close the day in prayer, I want to I want to invite. 693 00:33:58,836 --> 00:34:03,141 If you've never taken Jesus up on his invitation 694 00:34:03,141 --> 00:34:06,344 to put your life into his hands, to surrender your will 695 00:34:06,377 --> 00:34:10,715 and surrender your life to him and say, Jesus, I admit I'm a sinner. 696 00:34:10,715 --> 00:34:12,116 I need you in my life. 697 00:34:12,116 --> 00:34:15,520 I surrender and I ask you to be my personal Lord and Savior. 698 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:21,292 If you've never accepted that invite, that is the invitation for you today. 699 00:34:21,692 --> 00:34:22,693 Please stay after. 700 00:34:22,693 --> 00:34:24,829 Talk to me. I'd love to talk to you more about that. 701 00:34:24,829 --> 00:34:27,532 There's not a whole lot to it other than what I just said. 702 00:34:27,532 --> 00:34:30,535 And when you do that, the Bible says you're a new creation. 703 00:34:34,539 --> 00:34:35,573 Let's close in prayer. 704 00:34:35,573 --> 00:34:37,341 Invite you to pray with me. 705 00:34:37,341 --> 00:34:39,811 God, thank you so much for today. 706 00:34:41,079 --> 00:34:43,181 Thank you that your word 707 00:34:43,181 --> 00:34:46,751 does what you say it will do and not return to you void. 708 00:34:47,251 --> 00:34:50,254 Thank you. 709 00:34:50,822 --> 00:34:53,224 That you 710 00:34:53,224 --> 00:34:55,026 instrumented by whatever way 711 00:34:55,026 --> 00:34:58,029 you instrumented it for 712 00:34:58,162 --> 00:35:02,400 Matthew to leave in the account of Peter walking on water. 713 00:35:02,700 --> 00:35:05,703 Because boy, it sure is a great lesson for all of us. 714 00:35:06,437 --> 00:35:07,538 God, we love you for that. 715 00:35:07,538 --> 00:35:11,709 I pray that if there's somebody here who's struggling with the idea of whether 716 00:35:11,709 --> 00:35:15,546 or not to accept your invitation, that today would be the day they do so, 717 00:35:15,580 --> 00:35:18,716 especially if they've never put their life into your hands. 718 00:35:18,783 --> 00:35:20,184 Jesus, we love you. 719 00:35:20,184 --> 00:35:23,154 Help us to love you more. In your name we pray. 720 00:35:23,154 --> 00:35:24,789 Amen. Amen.