Participants: Jim Gilley & Danny Shelton (Host), Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: 14HC
Program Code: 14HC000009
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00:51 Well, we're having a wonderful time.
00:54 We really are. And Danny, I will tell you that 01:00 I was blessed by the music we just had so much. 01:03 Absolutely. And to know all of these folk, that they love Jesus 01:06 and it's not a game for them... it's not an entertainment deal, 01:10 they just love the Lord. None of them ask for a dime. 01:12 When they come out here they don't ask for a penny. 01:14 No. We call them, they'll say: "We'll be happy to come" - 01:17 that's right - "and minister. " 01:18 That's right. So we're just so thankful for that. 01:21 Amen. And I got a text message from Don Jacobsen and he and 01:24 Ruthie are watching on their iPhones in a motel out... 01:28 They've got a speaking appointment this weekend 01:31 but they were telling me how much they were enjoying 01:34 the music. They said they were really blessed 01:37 by the music, We'll, we're going to have some more music 01:40 in a minute. We are in just a moment 01:42 we're going to have Yvonne Lewis, but our speaker 01:45 tonight is Pastor Doug Batchelor, an author, 01:48 an evangelist. And we've known Doug for a long time - 01:52 yes - and in fact I think it was 1997 was the first time 01:57 he came to 3ABN. We did a satellite program with him - 02:02 um-hmm - and I remember that. And then we've been doing them 02:05 almost every year since. We've... for many, many years. 02:07 And that first one we were in the little Boss Auditorium 02:10 over at the other building over here. 02:12 Wasn't very big. But we had... People at home had all the 02:17 literature so we had home churches. Everybody get in your 02:20 churches, invite your neighbors. 02:22 And I think Doug can tell us 02:24 there was between 5,000 and 6,000 baptisms 02:26 so we said: "You know what? Satellite evangelism works" - 02:30 It does work - and we're going to keep doing it till the Lord 02:32 comes - yes - or till He tells us to stop. " And I don't think 02:35 He ever will 'cause He said: "Go ye into all the world. " 02:37 You know, an amazing thing: when you look at the way that 02:40 membership of God's remnant church has exploded 02:44 it's done so since 1984. 02:47 And television, the media... When people see this message 02:53 you see it's like one of the television speakers was telling 02:56 me - radio and television - not long ago he said: 02:59 "I've got 30 minutes a week, " but he said: "3ABN has 24/7 03:05 that the message is going into homes. " 03:08 You see the difference in that, folks: 03:10 it's not just one time a week with a big bright light all of 03:14 a sudden and when people might be asleep or they might be 03:18 gone to church themselves 03:19 but we are there when they are ready to watch. 03:22 And now we've got 3ABN and 3ABN Latino. 03:26 We've got Dare to Dream, Proclaim!, Children's Network, 03:31 the Russian Network. All that's on the app. If you don't 03:34 have the app, get the app. 03:37 You know, when I'm on the plane I like to share the app 03:40 with whoever is trapped next to me. 03:43 And... and I also give them a card. 03:48 I give them one of my cards which tells how to watch 3ABN 03:52 and so they know who they're talking to. 03:56 And Camille told me... she said: "One of these days 03:59 one of them's going to call you and they're going to say 04:03 'I've been watching, I've made my decision for Jesus, 04:06 and I've been baptized. ' " 04:08 And I'm waiting to hear from that person... I really am. 04:11 It's going to happen. And all we do is plant the seed. 04:13 That's it! The Holy Spirit nurtures it. 04:15 1984 there was not one Seventh-day Adventist television 04:19 station on planet earth. Did ya'll know that? Right. 04:22 Not one. In November when we started there was not one 04:25 television station giving the three angels' messages 04:29 24/7 on planet earth. 04:32 Since then, look what God has done. 04:34 Our church membership in 1984 was around 5-1/2 to 6 million. 04:38 Now we're up around 20 million. 04:40 Somebody said: "Are ya'll taking credit for all that? " 04:42 No, we give God the glory. But it's not just 3ABN. 04:46 Because of 3ABN, many many other ministries said: 04:49 "Well if they can do it we can do it! " 04:51 So other people started going out. You have Hope Channel 04:53 and you have all kinds of channels. It took them 15 years 04:56 before they caught on, but that's all right, you know. 04:59 Well, they got there eventually - that's all right. 05:01 They eventually did it. But the spread of the gospel 05:03 has been amazing and the church membership 20+ million 05:09 right - I'm told now, growing every day around the world. 05:12 And 3ABN has the privilege of reaching people literally 05:16 all over the world. Anywhere on planet earth 05:20 just about on every continent if you want to watch 3ABN 05:23 you can. And everywhere I go now 05:26 we just... we run into not one, not two, but dozens of people 05:31 in the churches that tell us - 05:34 and these are recent converts - that tell us: "We found Jesus 05:39 through 3ABN. " And Camille and I were two weeks ago 05:43 in Takoma Park. A very nice lady comes up 05:46 and one of the gentlemen there said: "You want to talk to this 05:49 lady. She was recently baptized. Did not know anything about 05:54 this message until she saw 3ABN. " 05:57 And so we had a nice interview with her. 06:00 And God is just blessing everywhere with this message. 06:05 And we couldn't do it without each and every one of you. 06:07 Thank you for your love and your prayers and financial support 06:10 of 3ABN. And those of you at home watching from all 06:14 around the world, thank you for what you do 06:16 for the cause of God. Now it gives me great privilege 06:18 to introduce - and we give God the credit - but one of the... 06:23 the greatest singers I've ever met: Miss Yvonne Lewis, 06:26 who is in charge, general manager of Dare to Dream. 06:29 I thought it was interesting that... I think we mentioned 06:34 it last night... but with the iPhone 6 06:38 they have a new commercial out with Verizon. It's going to 06:42 be on every - it is! - on every radio station, every television 06:45 station in America, and guess who's singing on that? 06:48 Well I have no idea. Miss Yvonne Lewis! 06:51 So, ging, ging, ging... I think she's hearing that 06:54 cash register... She's committed it all to Dare to Dream. 06:58 I was going to say I am making donations to Dare to Dream. 07:00 Praise the Lord! Amen! Yvonne, thank you for what you 07:03 do for the cause of God and for your ministry. 07:06 And the next voice you'll hear after this 07:08 is Pastor Doug Batchelor. Amen! 07:36 On Christ the solid Rock 07:40 I stand, 07:43 All other ground is sinking sand, 07:49 All other ground is 07:53 sinking sand. 08:02 My hope is built on nothing less 08:07 Than Jesus blood and righteousness; 08:13 I dare not trust the sweetest frame, 08:18 But wholly lean on Jesus' name. 08:24 On Christ the solid Rock I stand, 08:28 All other ground is sinking sand, 08:33 All other ground is sinking sand. 08:45 When darkness veils His lovely face, 08:50 I rest on His unchanging grace; 08:57 In ev'ry high and stormy gale, 09:02 My anchor holds within the veil. 09:07 On Christ the solid Rock I stand, 09:11 All other ground is sinking sand, 09:17 All other ground is sinking sand. 09:28 His love 09:32 is with me. 09:36 He then is all my hope and stay! 09:43 When He shall come 09:47 with trumpet sound, 09:49 O may I then in Him be found; 09:55 Dressed in His righteousness alone, 10:01 faultless to stand 10:04 before His throne. 10:11 All other ground is 10:14 sinking sand, 10:17 All other ground is sinking sand. 10:23 On Christ the solid Rock I stand... 10:27 On Christ the solid Rock I stand... 10:31 All other ground 10:34 is sinking sand... 10:37 On Christ the solid Rock 10:42 I stand! 10:57 Amen! 11:04 Thank you so much Yvonne. That was just beautiful! 11:07 That's the message: it's on Christ the Rock. 11:14 We've been talking about in our series this week 11:17 surviving storms. You know, before I get into tonight's 11:21 message I shared with you yesterday that I had some 11:24 interesting news and maybe a picture or two. 11:27 A little more than a week ago I was in Australia 11:30 and while there traveled from coast to coast around the 11:35 country from north to south and met a lot of people. 11:37 Had some wonderful meetings. 11:39 But it was very interesting because not only did I go to 11:43 some of the Aboriginal communities up in the Northwest 11:46 Territory, a place called Derby, 11:48 and brought me out to a community called Mowanjum. 11:52 It's what we would call a reservation, but it's for 11:55 the indigenous people there. 11:57 And I saw these satellite dishes on the homes. 12:00 And I said: "You get Christian television there? " 12:03 They said: "Yeah, we watch ABN. " 12:06 "We watch ABN. " 12:09 And I saw it all... I mean, this is way out in the middle 12:11 of nowhere in the outback. 12:14 And that's part of the reason that we went and did some 12:15 meetings there 'cause we were getting responses that people 12:18 were watching the programs. But the interesting thing is 12:20 then I went to Adelaide. And a man came there and he said... 12:25 Said: "Doug, you could relate. You'd really like our church 12:27 'cause our church is in a cave. " 12:31 And... and I said: "Well what do you mean? " 12:33 He said: "No, I'm serious. " 12:34 And I think they might have a picture that they're going to 12:36 put up there for you. It's a place... 12:38 See that satellite dish there? 12:40 See, there's a dish and then there's a line that goes down 12:43 a pipe. Now I want you to look at what's underneath that 12:46 satellite dish in the next picture here. 12:48 Oh, there's the sign. 12:50 This is the Coober Pedy Seventh-day Adventist church. 12:54 There's a town underneath those mounds out there. 12:57 There's the church, and these are some of your brothers and 13:02 sisters out in the middle of a very desolate area 13:05 of Australia. They have these opal mines 13:07 and it is so much cooler. See? That's the entrance to 13:10 one of the churches right there. 13:12 And they just go in, and it keeps it uniform all year round. 13:16 And so here... out in the middle of nowhere 13:19 in the northwest of central Australia 13:22 the people have their satellite dishes and they're tuning in 13:25 to the programs. I couldn't believe it because 13:28 we went to Sydney. We had thousands of people came to 13:32 the largest church there, the Adventist church Wahroonga. 13:35 And then we went to Adelaide. They said it was the largest 13:38 Adventist gathering in their history. 13:40 And a lot of it is because the people had been watching 13:42 the satellite on 3ABN. 13:44 So anyway, just want you to know that the message is going out 13:47 and exciting things are happening. 13:49 Oh, one more thing that I'd like to share with you or maybe 13:52 two little things. But something very big... very exciting 13:56 is about a year ago... You know, the largest country 14:01 in the world is China. Just go to Wal-Mart 14:04 and look where everything's made. 14:08 And 1.3 billion people, and there's a real challenge 14:12 in doing evangelism in that country because it is still 14:15 technically a Communist country. 14:17 We received... Foreigners have not been allowed to do 14:21 public evangelism in China for 60 years 14:24 and about a year ago - a little less than a year ago - 14:27 we received an invitation to come and to do a public 14:31 evangelistic meeting in a city with 6 million people 14:35 in China. We couldn't say anything about it. 14:38 It took a lot of permits and a lot of talking, 14:41 a lot of meeting with government officials. 14:43 But the Lord blessed and we went. We got all the permits. 14:46 We went last May to Wuxi, China. 14:50 It's outside of Shanghai which is the largest city 14:53 in the world, and we were able to do a public meeting. 14:56 I think we have a few pictures actually. 14:58 This is... We were doing a public meeting. 15:00 It was recorded by people in China. Christians in China. 15:04 And they didn't know if anyone would come. 15:07 They let us meet in the main Sunday church 15:10 in that town, and they brought everybody in. 15:13 And not only were they meeting in the church - 15:14 the church was packed - but I think maybe there's a picture. 15:16 This is outside the church. 15:18 The people were all sitting around the front, around the 15:21 windows, in overflow rooms. And we did a full series... 15:25 well, fifteen meetings. It's the first time 15:27 foreign evangelists have been allowed to do a public meeting 15:30 in China and we are so excited. 15:32 You haven't seen anything in the Review or in the papers yet 15:35 about that because we're just now sort of letting people know 15:38 what happened. But we just praise the Lord 15:42 the work is going forward there. And the neat thing 15:43 was they recorded it. 15:46 Because even though there are several thousand people 15:49 at our meeting, what's that among 1.3 billion? 15:53 But media - as you know - makes a world of difference. 15:56 They will copy that and sell it on the black market 15:59 and spread it all over the place. 16:02 Someone will make a lot of money. 16:04 But that's very very exciting. 16:06 And so pray for the work in China. 16:08 There's just a lot of wonderful Christians there 16:10 and it's still difficult some places to practice your faith 16:13 in China. 16:15 And then the last thing please let me repeat: 16:17 pray for our meetings that are beginning in just about a month. 16:20 October 31 is when we start there in Albuquerque, NM. 16:24 And it's a great cosmopolitan town. 16:27 We have just people... such a wonderful spectrum of people 16:31 in Albuquerque. We're going to be up-linking 16:33 Landmarks of Prophecy. Everybody can participate. 16:36 Danny was talking about when we came here in 1997 and did 16:39 our satellite up-link then and we found that's just such a 16:43 wonderful way to let everybody get involved in evangelism. 16:46 So in your churches if they have no plans for soul winning 16:49 this Fall, consider participating in that meeting. 16:52 It'll be right here on 3ABN 16:54 and you can do it in your home, in your church. 16:57 Well, we're going to get into our study for tonight. 17:00 And just pause with me as we pray again and ask for 17:05 God's presence. Lord, as we direct our attention 17:09 to the sacred words of Jesus 17:11 and the stories that are there to teach us about faith, 17:15 I pray that You will speak to every heart. 17:17 We ask for Your presence here, with those who may be watching 17:21 and just speak to us individually, Lord. 17:24 Help us be more like Jesus. 17:25 Be with me as I share, and I just ultimately pray that 17:29 we hear You speaking to us. 17:31 And it's in Christ's name we ask. Amen. 17:36 Now this series dealing with surviving storms 17:40 I think is very relevant because, for one thing, I think 17:43 our world is facing a major storm. 17:46 I mean, beyond the recent war that we're reading about 17:51 in Syria, there'll be wars and rumors of wars Jesus said 17:53 up until the end. But we go through storms. 17:59 And it seems like if you're going to make it to the kingdom 18:03 that your boat's going to rock somewhere along the way. 18:07 Sometimes it catches you by surprise. Sometimes 18:10 the storms come suddenly 18:12 and they take many forms. 18:15 Storms can be hurricanes. They can be wind, they can be 18:19 rain, they can be lightning, they can be a whirlpool. 18:21 Who knows what it is? 18:23 I heard about a man that was placidly sailing out in the 18:27 Pacific Ocean, and out of nowhere a gray whale breached. 18:32 Didn't know he was there and struck his boat. 18:35 And he ended up in a lifeboat for years. 18:38 It actually killed the whale. 18:40 He ended up in a lifeboat for several weeks 18:43 and just went through just terrible trials. 18:46 Just came out of nowhere... beautiful day as 9/11 was. 18:52 Sometimes a storm will come in the form of a phone call. 18:59 I remember when we were in the Philippines and we got 19:01 a phone call about our oldest son. 19:03 It might come from a lab report from the doctor. 19:07 It might come from a spouse shocking you 19:11 with some unexpected news. 19:14 We all encounter a spectrum of different storms 19:19 that come into our lives. 19:21 And there's a couple of stories in particular - 19:23 I'm hoping I get to them both tonight - 19:25 dealing with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. 19:29 Two storms. And if you'd turn in your Bibles 19:32 we're going to start out with the storm in Matthew chapter 14 19:37 where... you know the story... Jesus walks on the water. 19:40 Peter gives Him a little bit of company. 19:44 And this picks up... It's interesting... right after 19:46 Pastor Gilley's sermon today about Jesus feeding 19:49 the multitude. That's what's happening earlier 19:51 in chapter 14, but you get to chapter 22. 19:54 After Jesus fed the multitude they thought: "Wow! 19:58 this is the Messiah. He can feed the whole army. " 20:01 And they were ready to make Him a king. 20:04 You'll also find this mentioned in Mark 6 verse 45; 20:07 John 6 verse 14. You compare the different stories. 20:11 Trust me, I am coalescing those three passages. 20:13 In the gospel of John it says they were going to make Him king 20:16 and Jesus said: "No... stop. " 20:18 He broke up everything; He sent the disciples away. 20:21 He dismissed the people; that was not God's plan 20:24 for Jesus to come as a lion. The first time He comes as 20:28 a lamb; a lion He comes the second time. 20:31 First He comes as our sacrifice then He will come 20:34 as conquering King. 20:35 The Jews wanted their Messiah to be their king right then 20:38 and overthrow the Romans. 20:40 So He sent them away. Told the disciples to go across 20:43 the sea to Bethsaida. 20:46 And verse 23: "And when He had sent the multitudes away 20:51 He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray. 20:54 And when evening had come He was there alone. 20:59 But the boat by now was in the middle of the sea. " 21:03 Says in the gospel of John they had rowed about 7 miles. 21:08 It was hard for them to use the sails because they were... 21:11 the wind was going directly towards them. 21:14 Sailboats weren't quite as sophisticated back then where 21:16 you could tack back and forth easily with a jib. 21:19 It was a little more primitive and so they just decided 21:22 to row, and they weren't getting anywhere. 21:27 They're out in the midst of the sea. 21:29 John says it was dark. 21:33 As a matter of fact, it was the darkest part of the night 21:35 and they felt like they were all alone. 21:39 "Tossed by the waves for the wind was contrary. " 21:45 You know, if you're going to be a Christian you've got to go 21:47 against the wind. 21:50 It is not natural to be a Christian. 21:55 It's natural to just be selfish because of our fallen natures. 22:01 If you're going to be a Christian, you have to swim 22:03 against the current. 22:06 You have to learn to love... and you can. 22:10 I remember once Karen and I were at an ASI meeting. 22:13 How many of you have been to these ASI meetings before? 22:15 You know? Big Christian conference. They're wonderful 22:17 experiences. And they dismissed after the church service 22:21 and everybody headed to the cafeteria for lunch. 22:23 And it was in this convention hall where everybody had to just 22:26 form this bottleneck and go up the escalator 22:29 to get to the eating place. 22:33 And I gave Karen an elbow and I said: 22:36 "The down escalator is not being used by anybody 22:41 and the line is going to form up there and I'm hungry. " 22:44 So I said: "I'll save you a place in line. " 22:47 So I took off and I started going up the down... 22:50 It was a long one, too. I start- ed going up the down escalator. 22:53 Praise the Lord I'm in decent shape. 22:56 But you know, if you stand... Here's a test: 22:59 What happens if you stand on the down escalator? 23:01 You go down. What happens if you 23:04 walk up the down escalator? 23:06 You don't really go anywhere. 23:08 How do you get up the down escalator? 23:10 You've gotta move it! 23:13 And so I took off and I was... like that. 23:17 And all these people... they're going up next to me 23:19 and I'm passing them! 23:21 And they're going: "Hey! You're cheating! " 23:23 And I said: "No... I'm just motivated. " 23:27 And then I look back and Karen's behind me in her high heels. 23:31 Here's a physical therapist and so they saw the Batchelors 23:34 going up the down escalator. 23:36 And we made it... but it was hard. 23:40 And that's the way it is in Christian life. 23:42 In our natures something is always pulling us down. 23:46 Billy Sunday was a famous preacher, and he would preach 23:50 very strong sermons against sin... and very animated. 23:54 And after a message one man came out and he said: 23:57 "Pastor Sunday, " he said, "you're just always being so 23:59 hard on everybody for every- thing. You just have to always 24:02 keep rubbing the cat's fur the wrong way. " 24:05 Pastor Sunday said: "No, I'm not rubbing the cat's fur 24:07 the wrong way. " He said: "The cat needs to turn around. 24:09 I'll be rubbing the cat's fur the right way. " 24:13 And that's the way it is with us is we sometimes 24:16 hear things that Jesus says and it makes us uncomfortable. 24:19 It's because we're lost 24:22 and our natures are against God. 24:25 So the wind was against them. 24:27 Jesus told them where He wanted to go; 24:30 He didn't say it was going to be easy. 24:34 They were doing what God told them to do. 24:37 Christ said: "Go... cross over. " 24:39 So they were rowing, but they weren't making very good 24:42 progress because the wind was against them. 24:45 "Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them 24:50 walking on the sea. " 24:53 Now this is exciting because it means that the Lord saw them 24:56 where they were. And you never have to worry 25:00 Jesus is going to lose track of you. 25:02 He saw they were in trouble. 25:04 He saw they were doing their best but they weren't getting 25:06 anywhere and He went to them where they were. 25:11 Christ crossed the ocean to reach them. 25:13 There's nothing that can be an obstacle to God reaching you. 25:18 If He needed wings, He would have flown. 25:20 But what God did is He gave Him pontoons on His feet. 25:23 Or whatever it was He did He just said: "Father, 25:26 they need Me" and He started walking right across the water. 25:29 The Bible makes a point of saying they were in the midst 25:31 of the sea. Because people like to always say: 25:33 "Well they were too close to shore. It was shallow in that 25:35 spot. " If you know anything about the Sea of Galilee, 25:38 you'll know out in the middle it is very deep. 25:41 And so Jesus was walking in the darkest part of the night 25:45 in the deepest part of the sea 25:47 and the disciples were doing all they could 25:50 to get where He wanted them to go. 25:52 But they weren't getting anywhere. 25:55 Notice: when Jesus came to them what were they doing? 26:01 They were rowing 26:04 for all they could. 26:07 Did they row themselves all the way across? 26:11 No. But when He came to them I want you to make a note 26:14 they were rowing. 26:16 They were busy doing all they could humanly do 26:19 to obey what God had told them to do. 26:22 And He saw that and He came to them. 26:26 "And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea 26:30 they were troubled and they said: 'It's a ghost! ' " 26:33 Which makes you wonder about their theology. 26:38 "And they cried out for fear. " 26:40 And I suppose we probably would have been spooked too. 26:43 You know, it's dark night, and it doesn't say... There might 26:46 have been some stars. It says mainly this one was 26:48 a wind storm. Doesn't say it was raining. 26:51 But the waves were big, and they're rowing into the waves 26:54 and there all of a sudden they see this apparition 26:57 just slightly illuminated by maybe whatever stars were 27:01 out or by the bioluminescence of the foaming water. 27:04 And they thought: "What is it? It's a phantom; 27:07 it's a ghost. " And all the disciples began to 27:10 shake and cling to each other and shriek. 27:13 And Jesus saw how frightened they were. 27:16 He says: "Don't be afraid. 27:19 Be of good cheer... it is I. " 27:23 "And Peter answered Him... " 27:25 Now I've got to pause right here because Mark... 27:27 Mark makes an interesting statement. 27:29 It says "He made as though He was going to pass them by. " 27:35 In other words, as they're crossing the sea 27:38 and they're rowing; they see this apparition. 27:41 They cry out, but He's not coming right toward them 27:43 He's going kind of parallel. 27:45 It's like He said: "I told you to cross. 27:46 I'm going to cross. I'll meet you on the other side. " 27:48 And when they saw Him they cried out and He said: 27:50 "Don't be afraid. It's Me. " 27:53 And then Peter. He makes this... he makes this 27:56 interesting statement. He said: "Lord, if it's You 28:01 command me to come on You in the water. " 28:03 And I always thought: Well what if it wasn't Jesus? 28:06 Would he have still gotten out of the boat? 28:09 He said: "Lord, if it's You... " You just have to love Peter, 28:12 don't you? It's just... Peter didn't want to miss anything. 28:17 He always wanted... He had a comment on everything. 28:20 Peter had an opinion on everything and everybody. 28:24 Right or wrong. He was always telling Jesus how he thought 28:27 He ought to live His life, 28:29 telling everybody else what to do. And you know, 28:32 being outgoing like that is actually a gift that God can use 28:36 because at Pentecost it came in handy, didn't it? 28:39 Peter was not afraid to be a spokesman for God. 28:42 Peter... he was brave! 28:45 At that point he said: "Lord, I'm scared of the storm 28:50 but I'm really curious about walking on water 28:54 and if You can do it, I'd like to do it. 28:59 We've never seen that before and I'd like to try it. " 29:04 And what does Jesus say? 29:06 You know, Jesus almost always says yes to any request. 29:12 And he said: "I'd like to walk on water. " 29:15 Jesus said: "Well then, come. " 29:18 Does the Lord want to answer our prayers? Amen! 29:22 And so Peter... he came down out of the boat. 29:26 He had to step over the gun walls and put his feet down. 29:30 When I get to heaven I'm going to go to the angel 29:32 and say: "I want you to find this DVD 29:35 in the library. I'd like to see this segment. " 29:39 And you know, he puts his foot down and he feels something 29:43 solid that's sustaining him there. And then he ventures 29:45 to put his other foot down. He's got his eyes fixed upon 29:48 Jesus, and he begins to walk towards Christ. 29:51 And even though the waves are mounting 29:54 and the wind is spraying 29:56 he keeps his eyes on Jesus. He's going: "Wow! 29:59 What a miracle! Here I am out here in the middle of 30:02 the ocean... middle of the ocean 30:04 walking on the water. " And then he began to think 30:08 about what was happening. 30:09 Maybe Peter was thinking... You know, Peter always wanted 30:12 to know what his friends thought... 30:16 Said: "Though all men forsake You I'll not forsake You. " 30:19 That's what he said comparing himself with others. 30:22 And when his friends were watching Peter pulled out 30:24 a sword to defend Jesus when He was betrayed. 30:26 You remember? Peter always kind of wondered if anyone's 30:29 watching. Paul had to chastise Peter because of that. 30:32 Because when Peter - after Jesus died and went to heaven, 30:36 when the church began to grow - Peter was working with the 30:38 Gentiles up in Ephesus 30:42 and as long as there were no Jews around 30:45 Peter was hobnobbing with the Gentiles. 30:48 But when the Jews came, Peter was worried about what they were 30:51 going to think. Paul chastises him in Galatians for that. 30:54 He said: "You had no problem hanging out with the Gentiles 30:57 but when the Jews came, you act like the Gentiles suddenly 30:58 were unclean. " Says: "That's being hypocritical. " 31:01 Peter was always worried about what people thought. 31:04 And so while Peter is walking on the water he's wondering 31:08 to himself: "Hey, I wonder if Andrew and James are getting 31:12 video of this. " And whatever he's thinking 31:16 he looks over his shoulder: "Are you guys catching this? " 31:19 But that's where he made his mistake. 31:22 He took his eyes off of Jesus. 31:25 And when you take your eyes off of Christ 31:29 the miracle starts to evaporate. 31:33 And when he took his eyes off of Jesus 31:35 in order to go from Jesus back to the boat he had to 31:36 look at the storm at least temporarily. 31:39 And while he was looking at the waves and the sea 31:41 all of a sudden he thought: "What in the world am I doing? 31:43 I could drown out here. I am a long way from land. 31:46 The boat could get blown away 31:48 and what's going to happen if Jesus doesn't sustain me? " 31:51 And his faith started to sink and he began to sink right 31:54 along with it. And we don't know how far down he got 31:57 but just before his head went under he prayed the shortest 32:00 prayer in the Bible. And he said: "Lord, save me. " 32:05 I guess technically that's a complete sentence, right? 32:08 "Lord, save me. " If you... Sometimes you have 32:12 a problem, you know, in your car and you start sliding 32:15 on ice it's all you can do. 32:18 As a matter of fact, you just might say "Lord! " 32:23 One of the longest drives in my life 32:26 was going from 3ABN to St. Louis. 32:33 And I don't know if anyone here remembers, but it... 32:36 it snowed. We did a Thursday night Live! 32:39 And that night it was snowing big snowflakes. 32:44 And I needed to be at the air- port to take off Friday morning 32:48 to get back to my church to preach. 32:50 I had scheduled to leave early and I didn't know any other way. 32:53 I wanted to get back before Sabbath. 32:55 And I took off with Jean Ross in two different cars 32:59 because Jean had come from one location, I came from another 33:01 and so we took off following each other in these 33:03 two-wheel-drive rental cars. 33:05 And the snow kept coming until pretty soon there were no trucks 33:07 on the road and all we've got is these deep ruts left over 33:10 from the trucks. And it was a white knuckle 33:17 controlled slide for 3 hours. 33:22 15 miles an hour, and I prayed a lot during that drive. 33:26 It was just every time I'd turn a little bit and the car would 33:29 start to fishtail I'd say: "Lord... Lord? " 33:33 And there's nowhere to even pull off. 33:36 At one point it was snowing so hard 33:37 Jean was ahead of me in his rental car 33:40 and I lost him. And there was so much snow 33:44 I couldn't see the sign... You know, where you get north 33:48 of Mt. Vernon and the road forks and heads off toward St. Louis. 33:52 Some of you know what I'm saying: the freeway splits. 33:54 I couldn't see the split. 33:56 All of a sudden I realize I'm heading to Chicago! 33:59 I missed one turn I had to go ten miles further 34:03 to turn around up there and come back again. 34:05 Jean got lost too. 34:08 The snow was so deep... I don't know, we're talking about 34:11 storms I guess I could tell this story. 34:14 It wasn't in my notes... I had no idea. 34:16 The snow was so bad - so deep - 34:18 I'm not exaggerating - that when I got to the St. Louis 34:22 bridge, the bridge that crosses over into St. Louis, 34:25 there was no traffic on the highway anywhere. 34:29 I thought: "This will never happen again. 34:32 Since I'm at the middle of the bridge and I know it's kind of 34:34 downhill on the other side, I stopped my car. 34:36 Left the engine running. I got out 34:39 and I took a picture. I thought: "Here I am 34:41 standing on top of the Mississippi River 34:44 on the bridge leading to St. Louis 34:47 and nobody can do anything to stop me. " 34:50 Because the whole city was paralyzed that day. 34:55 And we made it to the hotel; it was a miracle. 34:57 We had some adventures but did a lot of praying. 35:00 You know, you pray more in storms. 35:04 I felt the Lord very close that night 35:07 'cause I felt I was that far from eternity the whole trip. 35:12 And you get very serious about your relationship with the Lord. 35:15 He took his eyes off Jesus... he started to sink 35:19 and he said: "Lord, save me. " 35:21 And did the Lord answer his prayer? 35:26 Amen! Immediately. 35:28 Immediately... but not before he prayed! 35:33 But when he prayed, immediately. 35:35 Some of us just assume God wants to save us so much 35:38 He's going to do it without us asking. 35:40 Did you hear that? 35:42 We know God loves us, we know He wants to save us 35:44 but you still need to ask. 35:46 He will not force His love upon you. 35:49 "Lord, save me. " 35:52 The thief on the cross... his prayer wasn't much longer. 35:55 "Lord, remember me 35:58 when You come into Your kingdom. " 36:03 And as soon as he said that Jesus stretched out His hand 36:06 and caught him. Makes it sound like he was going down fast. 36:09 He pulls him up. 36:11 He says: "Oh you of little faith. 36:13 Why did you doubt? " 36:15 Now I want to pause here and accentuate a couple of points. 36:21 All right, let me read just... something else. 36:24 Verse 32: "And when they got into the boat 36:28 the wind ceased. 36:31 And those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him 36:35 saying: 'Truly You are the Son of God. ' " 36:38 So in the storm they came to know 36:42 who He really was. 36:45 It's going to happen again in a moment, so note that. 36:47 Now in the gospel of John - same story - these are parallel 36:50 stories... In the gospel of John chapter 6 36:53 you'll find that, verses 15 to 21. 36:55 It says in verse 21: 36:57 "They willingly received Him into the boat 37:00 and immediately the boat was at the land 37:04 where they were going. " So not only did it become 37:06 perfectly calm, all of a sudden 37:09 even though they were out in the middle 37:10 when they received Jesus in the boat 37:12 they were at their destination. 37:16 The Lord can make an instant difference 37:20 in our journey. He can bring us to the end of the storm 37:24 instantly, and it happened when they received Him into the boat. 37:28 Now, here's a couple of points I'd like to just emphasize. 37:33 When Jesus came to them 37:35 they were doing what He commanded them to do 37:39 using all of their human strength. 37:42 Not making much progress, but they were doing what they 37:46 told to do, and that's what they were supposed to do: 37:48 they were rowing. 37:50 When they received Christ into the boat 37:52 they got to their destination. 37:55 God wants us to use every ounce of human effort 38:00 that we have to do what He tells us to do 38:03 trusting in Him to make whatever difference there needs to be. 38:07 Amen! When David went against Goliath 38:11 He went against Goliath trusting in the Lord. 38:13 But David did use his sling... he did run. 38:16 He did fight; he did grab a sword; 38:18 he did everything any other soldier would do. 38:20 The reason I say that is sometimes we overcompensate 38:25 on one of two sides. 38:27 You've got one group that overcompensates on the grace 38:29 side... it's almost like salvation by presumption... 38:32 and then you've got the other group that compensates too much 38:35 on the work side. It's like salvation by works. 38:37 But in the Bible... I'm not saying we're saved by grace 38:40 and works. We're saved by grace. 38:42 But God wants us to do every- thing that we are humanly able 38:45 to do. I've met people before: "Pastor, I'm just praying 38:49 for a job and nothing's happening. I'm just praying 38:51 for a job. " I said: "You out looking for a job? " 38:54 "Well, I'm waitin' on the Lord. " 38:56 "So what in the world does that mean? " 38:58 Said: "I know God's got some- thing. I don't know what it is. 39:00 I'm waitin' on the Lord. " I said: "Are you getting 39:02 the paper and you making calls? Are you knocking on doors? 39:04 Are you? " "Well, no, no. I'm trusting 39:06 the Lord. He's gonna... " I said: "Brother, 39:08 that's not faith... that's lazy. " 39:12 You know what I'm talking about? 39:13 Have you met folks like that? 39:16 You notice that everybody God calls in the Bible is busy? 39:21 God calls Elisha... he's out plowing. 39:24 God calls Amos... he's gathering sycamore fruit. 39:27 He calls David... he's keeping his father's sheep. 39:30 He calls Gideon... he's threshing wheat. 39:32 He calls Peter, James, and John. They're out cleaning nets. 39:37 I heard one pastor say: "Make yourself useful. 39:40 God's more likely to keep you around. " 39:43 Isn't that right? 39:45 God called... He created us to do things! 39:50 And God wants us to be busy about His business. 39:54 As a matter of fact, give the devil more credit 39:55 for being busy. We say: "He's working like the devil! " 40:02 No one ever insults a Christian by saying: "You're working like 40:04 a Christian. " Maybe that is an insult. 40:09 We ought to be busy. I believe we're saved by grace. 40:12 You understand what I'm saying? Yes! 40:14 When Jesus came to them they were rowing 40:16 as though their lives depended on it. 40:18 And because they were doing everything they could do 40:21 the Lord then worked a miracle for them. 40:27 Some of you know the story where 10 lepers came to Jesus 40:32 and they said: "Son of David, have mercy on us. " 40:34 They prayed that several times. They had to stand at a distance 40:37 because they had leprosy. 40:40 And Jesus called to them and He said: 40:42 "Go to the priest and make the sacrifice 40:44 for cleansing from leprosy. " 40:46 Which didn't really make sense because you don't make that 40:49 thank sacrifice for cleansing from leprosy 40:52 until you're cleansed. They still had leprosy. 40:54 He said: "Go... do what I'm telling you. 40:57 Go show yourself to the priest. Be inspected for cleansing 41:00 from leprosy and make the offering. " 41:02 "Why would we go make that offering for cleansing 41:05 when we still have leprosy? " But they didn't argue. 41:07 The Bible says they went. 41:09 And here's the wonderful verse: 41:11 "In going they were cleansed. " 41:15 As they began to step out and do 41:18 what God had told them to do 41:20 then He worked a miracle. 41:22 And so many people are waiting for God to do something 41:24 and we're not doing what we can do. 41:27 You know, in being a Christian there's effort involved. 41:32 I mean, I don't know how you can read the Bible and not get that. 41:36 New and Old Testament talks about us warring 41:38 and striving and running and fighting and wrestling. 41:41 There is effort involved in being a Christian. 41:44 And sometimes we tend to overcompensate on the grace part 41:47 and we end up doing nothing. And we're to do everything! 41:51 We've got to plead and we've got to pray with God. 41:54 And it takes heart and it takes fiber and muscle 41:56 and nerve to be a Christian. 41:59 And God will... I remember a salesman I know. 42:03 He's got a great sense of humor. 42:05 Bible salesman. He said: "Pastor Doug, it's amazing. 42:08 The harder I work the luckier I get. " 42:14 And it's true: the more you pray 42:16 and the more you put every ounce of human ability 42:19 into doing what God has told you to do 42:22 the more miraculous things become. 42:24 God wants us to be diligent Christians. 42:29 Now it's not that we're saved by that. 42:30 We're saved entirely by grace. 42:33 But God also wants us to use what He's given us 42:37 and there's sometimes a struggle. 42:38 So He gets in the boat; they receive Him into the boat 42:42 and a miracle happens. 42:45 He transports them to the place where they're going 42:48 and the wind is gone. 42:51 There's a great peace. 42:53 Now I want to jump to the other story, 42:56 and this you're going to find in Mark chapter 5. 43:01 Mark chapter 5. Actually you'll find it in 43:04 several passages. You've got the story where Jesus is 43:09 on the sea and this time He's sleeping in the boat. 43:13 Verse 35. Sorry, Mark 4 verse 35. 43:18 Mark 4 verse 35: 43:21 "On the same day when evening had come 43:23 He said to them: 'Let us cross over to the other side. ' " 43:26 Now, one thing you should never forget: 43:29 when Jesus tells us where to cross over 43:33 that means you're going to get to your destination if He's 43:36 with you. But He doesn't say when 43:38 and He doesn't say how hard it's going to be. 43:41 He told the children of Israel to go from Egypt to the 43:44 Promised Land. Did they have any idea about the adventures 43:47 that would go between? Or how long that was going to take? 43:51 Did He get them there? 43:53 He did... except the ones that lost faith along the way. 43:58 The Lord is going to help us do what He asks us to do. 44:03 I've said this many times: 44:05 inherent in every command of God 44:09 is the power to do what He's asking you to do. 44:13 God will not command you to do something 44:14 without giving you in His own Spirit and power 44:17 or in your body the ability to do what He's asking you to do. 44:21 Otherwise, God would be unfair. 44:23 So He says: "Cross over. " They should have confidence 44:26 they can get to the other side. 44:28 But their faith might be tested en route. 44:31 "Now when they left the multitude 44:33 they took Him along in the boat as He was 44:35 and other little boats were with Him. " 44:37 Some others were trying to follow. 44:40 "And a great wind storm arose 44:43 and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. 44:49 But He was in the stern asleep on a pillow. " 44:54 Talked about this when we talked about the Jonah storm. 44:57 Now we don't know how long it took, but evidently 45:01 there was a period of time where the storm was mounting. 45:04 And the disciples - many of them - were seasoned fishermen. 45:07 They were used to the sea; they knew it like the back 45:08 of their hand. And by the way, Jesus is directing them 45:11 in a strange spot. He's taking them directly 45:14 across to an uninhabited part called Decapolis. 45:19 An area called the Gadarenes that He would end up 45:21 encountering a demoniac... one demoniac over there 45:24 that Jesus would save. Makes this whole trip 45:27 for one person and then leaves. 45:28 But He crosses the whole ocean, so they're obeying. 45:32 They're going across. Goes through a storm on the way. 45:36 So the wind starts to build; the waves are against them. 45:39 Water is starting to come in. 45:41 The waves are swamping the boat. 45:43 It's pretty frightening when you see that happen. 45:45 And they didn't have bilge pumps. They were the bilge pump. 45:48 And they're taking whatever leather buckets they've got 45:50 and they're scooping. They're trying to splash the water out 45:54 and scare it out of the boat as quickly as they can. 45:56 And then another wave would hit and it'd come in. 45:58 And now they can feel the weight of 13 of them in the boat. 46:01 Right? These fishing boats. 46:05 Extra water... level's going down. 46:09 Tackle and gear starting to float around inside. 46:12 They realize: "Hey, we're out in the middle. 46:14 It's cold. There's a storm. We'll never get... " 46:16 You think they had Coast Guard that made them carry life 46:18 jackets back then? You go down out there 46:22 and it doesn't look good. 46:24 And the waves are beating against the boat. 46:27 And finally... I don't know what happened, the lightning 46:31 flashed or something and all of a sudden they see 46:34 looking around the back of the boat there He's so exhausted 46:38 He's asleep on a stack of sails. They call it a pillow. 46:42 It's just a big soft bundle, probably a piece of sail. 46:46 So exhausted from His day of ministry that He's just sleeping 46:49 right there through the storm. 46:51 And they're astonished that He's able to sleep like that! 46:55 And they wake Him up; they're afraid for their lives. 46:58 You know, how often do we sometimes forget that Jesus 47:01 is with us? 47:02 You know, I was thinking of praying before I came out. 47:06 I've got these two stories. 47:08 They're two completely different unique stories 47:12 of storms on the Sea of Galilee that involve Jesus. 47:15 In both cases He calms the storm. 47:18 Getting ahead of myself. 47:20 I thought: why two? In one He's not in the boat 47:24 but they receive Him into the boat 47:26 and they reach their destination. 47:28 In the other one, He's with them from start to finish 47:30 but they forget about Him. 47:33 You know what I feel this is telling us? 47:36 You've got two kinds of storms that involve Jesus. 47:39 You've got one where you first accept Jesus into your life. 47:43 But then ever after people accept Jesus in the life 47:46 sometimes we go through storms and we forget that He's there. 47:50 So you've got the person who is going through a storm 47:53 and they finally realize the only answer is Christ. 47:55 They invite Him in, they reach their destination. 47:57 And then you've got people who maybe they grow up in the 47:59 church and they've been Christians for years. 48:01 And we're so used to doing things on our own 48:03 that we're trying to save ourselves 48:06 when Jesus is right there. 48:08 He only needs to be awakened with prayer. 48:12 As they come to their senses they're astonished. 48:16 "How can He sleep though this? " 48:18 One thing: Jesus isn't afraid. 48:20 He knows His Father's watching over Him. 48:24 You ever pray that prayer: "Now I lay me down to sleep, 48:28 I pray the Lord my soul to keep. " 48:30 I knew that prayer ever since I was a little kid. 48:32 My grandparents used to teach me that and it scared me. 48:36 "And if I die before I wake... " 48:38 Now you know, kids normally aren't going to think like that. 48:41 But just every night she'd tell me to say that prayer. 48:43 I said: "Could that really happen? " 48:46 "Is today the day? " 48:47 I mean, you know, normally you go to sleep and just... 48:50 You're fine. But then there's "Let's say our prayer. 48:52 If I die before I wake, 48:56 I pray the Lord my soul to take. " 48:57 And I didn't know what that meant either! 49:00 So that used to scare me. 49:04 I was coming back from La Paz, Mexico. 49:09 Doing some mission work. We were building a church 49:11 down there - a Sabbath School room actually - 49:13 with our church in La Paz, Mexico. 49:15 Took my son Daniel down there. 49:17 And I came back with the contractors and all the gear 49:22 in a van. And I don't know if you've ever looked at a map 49:25 of California, but you realize La Paz - 49:27 the Baja California peninsula - is as long as the state. 49:33 A thousand miles long. 49:36 And the road is a two-lane road with no shoulder. 49:42 And it's amazing how many Mexican drivers are in Mexico. 49:48 But the lines are only sort of a suggestion there. 49:52 They're not a law. 49:53 Any of you know what I'm talking about? 49:57 I know with the Fjarli's... Been here; they've been to India. 49:59 They know. Same thing. 50:01 And I got tired, but I was so afraid to go to sleep 50:06 because as we went down the road, every time these big 50:09 trucks go by your mirrors almost clip. 50:12 And it's almost like you're having to share part of the 50:15 middle of the road until you just about get upon each other 50:17 and then you both... It's like playing chicken. 50:20 You know what I mean? And then just at the last moment 50:22 you'll go like this so that your other tire's 50:24 kind of on the dirt shoulder. 50:26 You go... And what makes it really scary 50:28 is all along that road - a thousand miles long... 50:31 You know what it means wherever you see a white cross 50:33 on the side of the road? There was a fatal accident here. 50:39 And I'll tell you: it looked like a picket fence. 50:41 There were so many white crosses up and down. 50:45 I'm not exaggerating. 50:47 It's like I'm just surrounded with the spirits of the dead 50:51 that didn't make it down this road. 50:54 And I'm supposed to sleep so I can share with the driving. 50:59 And I laid there, and just every time a truck went by 51:01 it just... You know, you feel the wind from the truck. 51:04 And phlew... Is this the one? 51:07 And you just... And they'd get so close you could even hear 51:11 the Spanish music in the trucker's radio 51:14 as they went by... the accordion music! 51:19 I guess they figure if we're going to go we'll be happy. 51:24 And so it was really terrifying and I thought: "What kind of 51:25 Christian am I? " And then I remembered 51:29 a Psalm where David - he was being hunted by David. 51:33 I mean David was being hunted by King Saul. 51:35 All over Israel they had his poster on the wall 51:38 and they wanted to... wanted to kill him. 51:41 David said: "I'll lay me down and sleep in peace 51:43 because You keep me. " 51:45 And I finally said: "All right, Lord, there's no 51:48 sense in us both being awake. If You're going to be awake, 51:52 I'm going to sleep. And if I die before I wake... " 52:04 Obviously I made it! 52:08 Jesus is sleeping in the storm. 52:10 I think the devil wanted to destroy Him that night. 52:12 Christ was vulnerable out in the middle of the ocean. 52:15 The devil brought up this storm. It was a diabolical stunt 52:17 to see if he could drown the Son of God. 52:19 But that boat that night was an unsinkable ship 52:22 if Jesus was in the boat. Amen! 52:24 And your boat is an unsinkable ship 52:27 if Jesus is in your boat. 52:29 And Jesus... He awoke and He rebuked the wind 52:33 and the sea and He said: "Peace... be still. " 52:37 You know, actually in Greek it's more words than it is 52:40 in Hebrew. Jesus was speaking Hebrew. 52:42 Probably what He said was simply one word: "Shalom" 52:45 which means peace, be still. 52:48 And unlike what you may see por- trayed sometimes in the movies 52:51 where Jesus has to stand up and He's hanging on to the mast 52:53 with one hand and the lightning's flashing 52:55 and He screams at the elements. Jesus doesn't have to scream. 53:00 God said: "Let there be light" 53:02 and light came. All Jesus had to say is "Shalom. " 53:06 And when Jesus got up and He said that 53:09 all of a sudden the wind stopped blowing, 53:11 the waves flattened out. 53:15 The clouds parted, the moon came out 53:17 and reflected on a glassy sea. 53:20 And you know what's amazing about this story: 53:22 the disciples were terrified during the storm. 53:26 They woke Him up saying: "Lord, don't You care we're 53:28 perishing? " What a thing to ask Jesus. 53:30 Does Jesus care if we're perishing? 53:34 And then Jesus calms the sea and He says: 53:37 "Why are you so fearful? Have you no faith? " 53:39 You notice in both stories 53:42 Jesus said they needed faith in the storm. 53:45 They didn't have enough faith. 53:47 Told Peter: "Where's your faith? " 53:49 Tells the disciples: "Where's your faith? " 53:53 Maybe God's telling us for our storms and the ones ahead 53:58 "You're going to need faith. " 54:00 Where do you get faith? 54:02 "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. " 54:05 Faith comes when you pray and God answers your prayer. 54:07 Your faith gets stronger. 54:09 Faith is like a muscle that gets stronger through use 54:12 and exercise. We need to be using our faith now. 54:17 You know there's a lot of stories in the Bible of people 54:19 who became Christians... a lot of stories in history 54:21 I should say... through storms. 54:25 John Wesley. He actually was doing evangelism in America. 54:30 Wanted to be an evangelist but he kind of had pitiful results 54:34 his first endeavor at it. On his way back across the 54:37 Atlantic Ocean they got into a fierce storm 54:40 and he was scared for his life. 54:42 Waves were crashing and the boat was creaking 54:44 and he saw this family of primitive Moravian Christians 54:48 some of the first Protestant re- formers from the Czech Republic 54:53 from John Hus. They were standing on the deck - 54:58 men and their families - singing. 55:03 And Wesley said: "Aren't you afraid? " 55:06 "No, " they said, "we're not afraid. " 55:07 Says: "Your wives, your children? You're not afraid? " 55:10 "We're not afraid to die; we're in God's hands. " 55:12 And he went back. He realized: "I'm not converted. " 55:16 And it was after that experience he really began to read the 55:18 Bible and pray and study, and he had a conversion experience. 55:24 Same thing with John Newton. 55:26 You've sung that song Amazing Grace? 55:28 You know what brought about his conversion? 55:31 Storm at sea. 55:33 One storm in particular was so bad. The water was coming in. 55:37 And John Newton, if you read his autobiography, 55:39 he was an awful scoundrel. We just read it again with our 55:42 kids last year. And yeah, I can't even go into it, 55:47 but he's as bad as an infidel can get. 55:49 Blasphemed God's name... just mocked God. 55:52 But he had a mother praying for him. 55:54 And he was out at sea and water was coming in 55:58 and it looked like the boat was going down. 56:00 And Newton called out to the captain. He said: 56:03 "I'll go to the pumps and if this doesn't work 56:06 God have mercy on us. " And he thought to himself: 56:08 "Mercy? Who am I to think I could have mercy? " 56:12 And he thought: "Well it wouldn't be mercy if it wasn't 56:16 given to those who don't deserve it. " 56:18 That's when he finally realized 56:21 that God could have mercy on him. 56:23 And he began to read the captain's Bible that was in 56:26 the... in the cabin. And that was the beginning 56:31 of his conversion. But it started with a storm. 56:33 Even Joseph Bates, one of the founders of this movement, 56:37 converted in a storm. 56:40 Sometimes we're going through storms. You wonder: "Lord, 56:42 what's going on? " And it's in the storm 56:46 that we might discover Jesus. 56:48 We come out the other side and we realize 56:50 "Thank you, Lord. I wouldn't have known Your power. " 56:53 In the storm where Jesus got into the boat and in the storm 56:56 where they woke Jesus up they both worshipped Him 56:59 and they recognized who He was 'cause He revealed Himself 57:03 through the storm. You know, I think we're facing 57:07 some big storms that are coming 57:09 to the world... to our country. 57:12 It's going to affect us if we're Christians. 57:14 We need to have that per- sonal relationship with Jesus. 57:17 And you who are watching: do you have that now? 57:20 You need to ask Him just like those others we talked about. 57:23 Come to Jesus and say: "Lord, save me. " 57:26 He wants to enter your life and to give you peace. |
Revised 2015-08-13