Praise the Lord, everyone,
welcome to Imperative Life
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Lessons. I'm Pastor Ryan
Johnson, Isaiah Chapter 65 and
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verse 24 states; Examining this
text, several veritable truths
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are seen. Firstly, who's
speaking here? Well, who is it
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that answers prayers? If we look
back within that same chapter,
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verse eight, it reads, Thus
saith the Lord. So, it is God
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who speaks in verse eight. It is
God who is speaking in verse 24
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stating that He will answer.
Also, this passage kind of has
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the sound of
prophecy does it not?
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Predicting the future, it shall
come to pass that I will answer.
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This is God's immutable promise,
but then it's clear from the
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reading that God
expects us to call upon Him,
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this is also immutable.
We are to call upon our God,
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we must, we gotta, or
he doesn't just say hey,
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I will provide, although
He certainly does provide
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but rather, he
states, I will answer.
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One does not answer if
one is not first called.
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Which brings us to
another implication of this text
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that there are instances where
God has an answer an offer,
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an opportunity for relationship.
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Yet many do not call upon
Him, and if God has an answer
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waiting yet we don't
pray, it's kind of like we are
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standing God up. Ya
ever think of it like that?
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I mean, He's all dressed
up for a fine date with us
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but we don't show,
leaving Him expectant, unwanted.
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The verse then
declares that as we are speaking
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God, who has already provided
an answer is compassionate
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enough to hear, to
listen and if that isn't proof
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that God desires a relationship
with us, I don't know what is.
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He says, I desire to hear to
fellowship. Beautiful, lovely,
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pondersome, but this lesson
focuses on the fascinating
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supernatural, extraordinary,
word in that text.
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A word that takes it to the
next level, it denotes power,
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omniscience, control, and the
word is before, before they call
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prior to the prayer and
effect that precedes the cause
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God knowing the
beginning from the end.
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That word is a temporal
word in the English language,
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an adverb, a preposition,
a subordinating conjunction,
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and it's presence or position,
can dictate the nature of a
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conversation. God could
have said, you know, they call,
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I answer, but when
God says before they call
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things are taking up a
notch shows that we serve a God
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who infinite in both the past
and the future, He is temporally
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unbound, and He answers
us, and this is the crux of our
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lesson. But there are two
other scriptural calls that
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we are going to make today.
Well, take in the scenery,
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breathe in the air, but then as
we approach a very significant
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standpoint, I'll give a
queue so that we may focus
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and be prayerful for today
we see God before the storm.
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Father in heaven,
thank you for being the God
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that answers before we
call, save us in your kingdom,
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in Thy Name we
pray, Amen, and Amen!
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In the 4th chapter of
Mark, Jesus has a full day
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of ministry, He speaks to
us about the kingdom of God
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Mark chapter 4 verse 26, He
tells the parable of the sower
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of the devouring enemy and
of the seed which falls upon
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different grounds, it's
Mark: Chapter 4, verse 3.
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Faith, Jesus tells us in
Mark 4:31, if only as that of a
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mustard seed is sufficient
enough such that one could
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transplant mountains.
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By the way, in that
parable, is He stating that
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moving mountains only
requires a little faith,
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or that a mustard seed is
full of faith? Theologians argue
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think it depends on how the
Holy Spirit applies the parable
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to you, which lesson
do you need to learn?
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that your faith in Christ is
enough, or that you lack faith.
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umm. So, lets
proceed. Verse 35, it says;
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The account of the
pressing tempest is also found
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in Matthew and Luke, but there
are details here in Mark that
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are not in the other accounts
and one reason may be that
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John Mark, the writer of the
gospel of Mark is believed to
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have received his gospel
narrative from none other than
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Simon Peter himself,
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who calls Mark his son in
I Peter Chapter 5: verse 13.
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Because Peter was a fisherman,
so Peter had a perspective
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on sea storms that
the other gospel writers
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would not have had.
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Maybe John could have elaborated
from his own maritime experience
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but the story isn't
covered in the gospel of John.
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So, after a very full day,
Jesus commands that they pass
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to the other side, they were all
tired but it was a good tired,
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the satisfying exhaustion that
can only come from ministering
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to others with Jesus. I
remember one particular Sabbath
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after working all night
and then all day, I came home
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and I fell out on the
couch and then my dad called me.
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And in a groggy
voice, I answered, hey, dad,
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and he responded
how are you pastor?
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I'm so tired, I said,
then my dad was quiet, right?
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and then he says, but son,
it's a good tired, isn't it?
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Laughter. Yes, it
was, working for the Lord.
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The disciples were a good
tired having seen the healing
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of lepers, Matthew Chapter 8,
heard the word, felt the rising
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tide of hope. But Jesus,
well, Jesus was weary on a
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different level, He was
all God yet He was all human
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and while His ear ever listened,
His heart ever broke with
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compassion. His humanity
would not allow Him to work
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without rest. So,
church is over for now.
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And He sends the multitude away
and He retires to the vessel
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from which He had been
preaching in verse one.
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And Jesus goes to the
stern and under the watchful eye
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of the Father and the
baleful eye of the enemy
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Jesus falls asleep. What does
it mean that He falls asleep?
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What can we learn from
it? Well, we can learn a lot.
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But today we learn that
Jesus, Son of God has laid His
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power aside to the
degree that He gets sleepy.
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But just as with us, when
Christ closes His eyes in sleep
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the Great Controversy
continued and that baleful enemy
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planned a storm in an
attempt to drown the Saviour
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and His growing church.
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They spoke in Semi-hushed tones
so as to not disturb Christ
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as they navigated the vessel
toward the far end of the sea.
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Can you feel their contentment?
A good tired, a blessed day
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behind them, the hope
for a blessed day ahead
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and now the simple joy that
comes from knowing what Jesus
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desires of you and putting
your heart into doing it.
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And then trouble arrived,
storms recur in scripture
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Noah, Elijah, Jonah, Paul,
even in Daniel, in chapter seven
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if you look at it that way,
we could study the scriptural
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significance of inclement
weather for our whole lives
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and never exhaust the
lessons that we would learn.
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Verse 37 of Mark 4 informs us
that there arose a great storm
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of wind, Matthew 8 calls it a
tempest, Luke said it is a storm
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but all state that as a
result water began to batter
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the boat. One writer states
that it became dark to the
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point of blackness. The howling
of the elements was terrifying
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the disorienting nature
of the gale was disheartening
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but it was the water
that buffeted the boat,
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that began filling the boat,
that could have crushed the
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boat. Hmm. A gallon of water is
about eight pounds, a 50-gallon
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bucket then weighs 400 pounds,
can you imagine what would
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happen if you got hit with
50 gallons of water all at once?
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What about 5,000 gallons?
What about an entire wave?
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We all know that water will
drown you, but also the weight
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of the water can crush you.
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In Revelation chapter 17, verse
15, we're told that in Prophecy
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the waters
represent nations and people,
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so let's apply that to the
storms that we may experience.
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The winds of strife may blow,
the darkness of these times
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may descend upon us,
but the waters of the world.
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The nation against nation,
the politicizing, the unrest,
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the pressures, the apostasy,
the to and fro of this society
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that's what makes so
much of this unbearable
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and without God, the world
can crush us, pull us down,
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destroy us, the
waters that are dangerous.
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Well, literal waters threaten
the ship of future apostles
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and their Savior as Satan
attempted to take it under.
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Now, look at this. When
you are in a storm on the water
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in a boat of this little
vessel may not be sea worthy
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but I know from
experience that it's tub worthy.
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Laughter. The waves
may be coming at you
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this way and in such a case,
you don't want to veer away
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and run from it, or you will
be carried away by the water
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and you may wind up somewhere
God never intended. Hmm.
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And you should never ever
position your vessel sideways
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perpendicular to the
direction of the oncoming waves
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don't present your side,
don't just give it the hand,
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don't be ignorant of it
because then you will present
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the greatest surface
area to the water, and it will
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topple you over.
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So, how do you deal
with waves in a storm?
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You know what you
do? You face it head-on
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that way, you cut through
the assault, you ride the waves
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up and down when you
got Jesus in the boat,
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you can face the storm head on
as a family, head on as a church
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head on as a denomination,
head on, so the disciples
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would have battled the
waves and then being experienced
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maritime warriors and being
spiritual here, having Jesus
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in the vessel, they would have
turned head on into the storm
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riding the waves,
doing what God said do.
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Tell me that's not a
beautiful image, isn't that a
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powerful thing to contemplate?
Laughter. But then the word says
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in verse 37, it says;
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Despite their best efforts,
despite their purest intentions
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despite their whole objections
water was filling the boat
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filling the boat, and they're
sinking, they began just hand
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scooping water out of the
boat, just shelling water out
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and this too is
part of it isn't it?
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Part of our
life experience, huh?
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We start out so confidently
huh? So formally in the storm
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calling out commands,
Port side, I don't know,
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I'm not a maritime person.
00:14:05.81\00:14:07.18
Lower the sails, huh, we
began by rowing and testing the
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direction of the wind,
judging the depths and stuff,
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rallying the crew, starboard
side. But then we sometimes
00:14:15.18\00:14:19.82
find ourselves completely
defeated, desperate on our
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hands and knees
just panning out water.
00:14:23.79\00:14:27.36
Shall I get
personal? Alright financially?
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We get to the point where
we are counting pennies, huh,
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borrowing from our kids
piggy bank, and our marriages,
00:14:36.00\00:14:39.71
we're down to watching Netflix
because that's the only time
00:14:39.74\00:14:43.11
when we aren't
screaming at each other.
00:14:43.14\00:14:45.28
You were hoping that your
health would hold up so that you
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could continue going
out with your friends,
00:14:49.58\00:14:53.56
but now if you
could just get out of bed,
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you'd call that a victory, now
you're on your hands and knees
00:14:55.92\00:14:59.79
the oars are forgotten,
the crew was scattered,
00:14:59.83\00:15:02.73
the sails are cast aside and
you are just shoveling out water
00:15:02.76\00:15:07.00
barely making it...I'm sorry,
sorry, am I talking to you?
00:15:07.04\00:15:13.11
Is it you who is down there
to your last, down to the wire?
00:15:13.14\00:15:17.88
The disciples were, they
were, and you know the story,
00:15:17.91\00:15:23.39
you've heard it a thousand times
or maybe this is your first.
00:15:23.42\00:15:26.96
It says then
they remember Jesus.
00:15:26.99\00:15:32.36
One writer states that
it was an illuminating flash
00:15:32.39\00:15:36.93
of lightning and in
the brief flash Jesus.
00:15:36.97\00:15:41.20
Others say that it was I who
didn't know, something that had
00:15:41.24\00:15:44.37
reminded them of the
miracles they'd seen that day.
00:15:44.41\00:15:46.98
Oh no, we're sinking, we're
all going to die, wait, hold up
00:15:47.01\00:15:51.45
didn't we see the dead
resurrected today, ahk,
00:15:51.48\00:15:54.42
Jesus is in the boat.
Sometimes it's like that.
00:15:54.45\00:15:58.55
We feel utterly defeated
but then suddenly we're reminded
00:15:58.59\00:16:02.02
or it is illuminated that
we are not alone, the disciples
00:16:02.06\00:16:06.29
remember that Jesus
Christ Emmanuel, God with us
00:16:06.33\00:16:11.47
was with them in the boat.
00:16:11.50\00:16:15.07
And if you look at
verse 38 it states;
00:16:15.10\00:16:21.21
Do you not care
that we are dying?
00:16:29.45\00:16:31.49
Does it not bother you that
we are down here shelling out
00:16:31.52\00:16:35.39
water with our hands,
does It does not concern you
00:16:35.42\00:16:38.43
that our next stop on our
little journey here is the deep
00:16:38.46\00:16:41.96
the bottom? Do you care
that I'm suffering, Lord?
00:16:42.00\00:16:45.13
What's up, Jesus? You
must have wondered that
00:16:45.17\00:16:49.67
at some point, or am I the only
one that has struggled with God?
00:16:49.70\00:16:54.78
The disciples wondered, they
marveled even that Jesus was
00:16:54.81\00:16:59.78
asleep in the boat.
00:16:59.81\00:17:01.15
Lord, we've seen you
heal, we've seen you move
00:17:01.18\00:17:03.92
we could use a little
power right about now.
00:17:03.95\00:17:07.32
Right about now.
00:17:07.36\00:17:11.69
Did you know that a
storm can take weeks to form?
00:17:11.73\00:17:19.57
Hurricanes fester
for weeks don't they?
00:17:19.60\00:17:23.30
But even a microburst, a
squall which can seem so sudden
00:17:23.34\00:17:29.08
or tornado's and waterspouts
they take time to form, they do.
00:17:29.11\00:17:33.82
Let's walk through it quickly.
00:17:33.85\00:17:35.62
At the time of the preparation
of this lesson, the wind speed
00:17:35.65\00:17:40.29
courtesy of Google, on
the Sea of Galilee was about
00:17:40.32\00:17:43.63
one mile per
hour, very calm, yes.
00:17:43.66\00:17:45.89
Now, because the lake features
the separation of the African
00:17:45.93\00:17:52.17
and the Arabian
Geologic Tectonic plates,
00:17:52.20\00:17:55.40
the lake, which is primarily
fed by the Jordan River
00:17:55.44\00:17:59.77
is very low in elevation.
In fact, it is the lowest
00:17:59.81\00:18:04.78
Freshwater body on
earth. Due to its low elevation
00:18:04.81\00:18:09.95
winds from the surrounding
hills often descend suddenly
00:18:09.98\00:18:14.62
onto the water, making
storms unpredictable and rapid.
00:18:14.66\00:18:19.89
Now the winds themselves
are formed by temperature
00:18:19.93\00:18:23.53
and pressure changes in
the air often miles away.
00:18:23.57\00:18:27.20
Here's the water, here's
the hills and the wind travels
00:18:27.24\00:18:31.14
to the lake, so get this
now, that means before there's a
00:18:31.17\00:18:35.31
storm on the lake, there's a
breeze in the forest somewhere.
00:18:35.34\00:18:39.08
A temperature front out on
the plains, hear me now, hear me
00:18:39.11\00:18:42.95
before there is a gale
force on the water, there's a
00:18:42.98\00:18:45.85
gentle force in the hills.
00:18:45.89\00:18:48.06
Before the disciples were
aware of the coming danger,
00:18:48.09\00:18:51.43
things were already
happening out there in the world
00:18:51.46\00:18:54.63
out in the periphery way
back when they were happy
00:18:54.66\00:18:58.27
and ignorant and oblivious
stuff was already taking shape.
00:18:58.30\00:19:02.90
Yes, remember when you
were happy and oblivious, huh?
00:19:02.94\00:19:07.74
When Covid was just a handful
of people with a runny nose
00:19:07.78\00:19:10.51
far away somewhere.
00:19:10.55\00:19:12.15
Remember, before you were facing
eviction, and you had just
00:19:12.18\00:19:16.65
accidentally missed the cable
bill, back when your marriage
00:19:16.69\00:19:19.92
wasn't a mess. You just wondered
where he was all night long
00:19:19.95\00:19:24.56
before the
storm. Do you remember?
00:19:24.59\00:19:27.60
Do ya? Okay! Okay!
Then here's the queue,
00:19:27.63\00:19:33.70
our lesson, here it is.
00:19:33.74\00:19:39.34
Who was in
control before the storm?
00:19:39.37\00:19:43.04
Who saw and
measured the gathering breeze
00:19:43.08\00:19:48.68
in the mountains before it was a
gale force wind upon the water?
00:19:48.72\00:19:52.89
God did. And guess
where God was before the rain
00:19:52.92\00:19:58.66
while the lake was calm.
He was there, in control,
00:19:58.69\00:20:03.83
He saw it coming; he saw it
forming, even before we were
00:20:03.87\00:20:08.34
panning out water desperately
struggling to bring our vessel
00:20:08.37\00:20:12.21
to shore, He was always there
He is there way before we even
00:20:12.24\00:20:19.25
know we have a problem.
00:20:19.28\00:20:21.28
In John chapter 11, a grieving
Martha cries, Lord, if you'd
00:20:21.32\00:20:27.36
been here, my
brother would have not died.
00:20:27.39\00:20:31.13
Lazarus had indeed died, but
back before Lazarus had expired
00:20:31.16\00:20:35.46
back when he just had a
headache and a sore throat
00:20:35.50\00:20:38.43
Jesus had been aware
and had been working things
00:20:38.47\00:20:42.04
for their good. He'd been aware.
00:20:42.07\00:20:45.81
A Mary and Martha storm
before they had even seen clouds
00:20:45.84\00:20:50.08
in the skies, and
how do we know this?
00:20:50.11\00:20:52.75
How could we believe the
fact the minutest pre-crisis
00:20:52.78\00:20:57.25
stirrings of their lives? Those
lives are under His command
00:20:57.29\00:21:01.62
because earlier in
John 11, Jesus had stated
00:21:01.66\00:21:06.16
this sickness is not unto
death but for the glory of God.
00:21:06.19\00:21:10.53
That the Son of God might
be glorified thereby, He was
00:21:10.57\00:21:14.87
handling things even
before they knew there was a
00:21:14.90\00:21:18.91
major problem, Jesus was
already providing an answer
00:21:18.94\00:21:22.28
before the trouble, before
the tears, before the storm.
00:21:22.38\00:21:26.72
So, back to our
story in Mark Chapter 4.
00:21:26.75\00:21:29.85
The disciples are battling
the elements and in verse 38
00:21:29.88\00:21:35.22
they wake up Jesus and
say Lord, don't you care?
00:21:35.26\00:21:38.93
And Jesus rebukes the wind
and the waves, the same voice
00:21:38.96\00:21:44.27
that in Genesis 1:6 had spoken
the water and firmament into
00:21:44.30\00:21:48.57
their form now
commands them into obedience.
00:21:48.60\00:21:52.01
Peace, He says, be still
and they were still. Wow!
00:21:52.04\00:21:59.65
That's sobering, that is,
but again, here's our queue.
00:21:59.68\00:22:06.49
How do we know that
Christ was always in control?
00:22:06.52\00:22:09.92
How do we know there was an
answer to the disciples prayers
00:22:09.96\00:22:15.26
before they called on Jesus?
00:22:15.30\00:22:17.73
In essence, can we prove from
the text the truth of Isaiah 65?
00:22:17.77\00:22:22.90
Well, let me ask you this?
When did Jesus receive the power
00:22:22.94\00:22:27.51
to command the wind?
00:22:27.54\00:22:28.88
Did He just wake up with it,
just woke up in the boat, ah ha.
00:22:28.91\00:22:35.32
No, he already had it before,
therefore if he could command
00:22:35.35\00:22:41.96
the wind there on the
lake, He must have had command
00:22:42.02\00:22:46.76
of the wind way back
before it was a storm.
00:22:46.80\00:22:51.03
Prior to the pain,
He's got the power.
00:22:51.07\00:22:55.27
Prior to our
trials, He's got the power.
00:22:55.30\00:22:59.47
So God says in Isaiah
chapter 65, love this verse.
00:22:59.51\00:23:05.31
It shall come to pass that
before you call, I will answer
00:23:05.35\00:23:10.75
and when you do, even
though I've answered already
00:23:10.79\00:23:14.62
I will listen anyhow. I
will hear you in the storm.
00:23:14.66\00:23:21.13
But I'm
answering before the storm.
00:23:21.16\00:23:26.23
What a mighty Jesus we serve,
what a mighty God we serve.
00:23:26.27\00:23:30.51
Laughter. A few years
ago, my daddy and I drove from
00:23:30.54\00:23:36.75
North Carolina up to
the Washington DC area
00:23:36.78\00:23:40.92
to film none other than Pastor
Henry Wright's for a project
00:23:40.95\00:23:46.22
that we were doing, and it
was snowing really, really hard.
00:23:46.25\00:23:53.53
We gotten on the road
and visibility dropped down
00:23:53.56\00:23:58.10
to almost zero. We're
sitting there driving like this
00:23:58.13\00:24:02.40
and all we could see was
white, we would take turns
00:24:02.44\00:24:06.98
just kind of driving in
the ruts of the cars and trucks
00:24:07.01\00:24:10.95
that had gone before and did
we see cars that had spun out
00:24:10.98\00:24:14.52
of control as we
were going. Yeah we did.
00:24:14.55\00:24:18.09
Well, maybe you're thinking
that the best thing to do
00:24:18.12\00:24:20.59
would be to pull
over and just wait it out.
00:24:20.62\00:24:23.12
Ahh, that may not be the
best idea in a snow storm
00:24:23.16\00:24:26.06
indeed, I just recently
heard from the inclement snow
00:24:26.09\00:24:30.30
that we had in New York
there was a young lady who made
00:24:30.33\00:24:33.10
that decision, and
she froze to death.
00:24:33.87\00:24:35.77
Yeah, so we had to go forward
and the whole time we were
00:24:35.80\00:24:40.11
sitting there praying,
and we're going forward.
00:24:40.14\00:24:42.81
Now, it had been my turn
to drive and I'm sitting there
00:24:42.84\00:24:47.02
behind the wheel of the
car oh, listen to me now
00:24:47.05\00:24:50.09
listen and I'm staring
into the whiteness right ahead
00:24:50.12\00:24:53.56
and just the bare glimmer of
red lights from the car that is
00:24:53.59\00:24:57.59
in front of me and
while I'm driving, yes,
00:24:57.63\00:25:00.50
I'm telling the truth, I
just looked over at my dad
00:25:00.53\00:25:03.97
and I said, you know
what? I think I'd like to drive
00:25:04.00\00:25:06.80
in the other lane, and I
put the car in the other lane
00:25:06.84\00:25:10.97
and just as I did, a fallen tree
that was blocking the highway
00:25:11.01\00:25:16.24
went by and we said
whoa, did you see that?
00:25:16.28\00:25:21.02
Praise the name of
the Lord and I said dad,
00:25:21.05\00:25:24.65
I just felt like I
should be in the other lane
00:25:24.69\00:25:27.49
like right now, and I
went back to the first lane
00:25:27.52\00:25:30.16
and another tree went by.
00:25:30.19\00:25:33.73
I didn't know the tree was
there, we couldn't see the tree
00:25:33.76\00:25:38.90
but we serve a mighty God.
00:25:38.93\00:25:41.97
And before I was aware
of an obstacle, God sent the
00:25:42.00\00:25:49.21
Holy Ghost to give me an answer,
don't tell me God ain't doing
00:25:49.24\00:25:56.28
something mighty in your life.
00:25:56.32\00:25:58.29
And I think about that
as I go through my trials
00:25:58.32\00:26:03.76
please think about that
as you go through yours.
00:26:03.79\00:26:08.36
God standing at the helm
of your life already answering
00:26:08.40\00:26:16.71
prayers, already making a
way even before you are aware
00:26:16.74\00:26:23.18
that there is a problem.
00:26:23.21\00:26:25.35
But pastor, I'm in the problem,
and it hurts, it's hard,
00:26:25.38\00:26:35.26
it is difficult. I know. I know.
00:26:35.29\00:26:42.46
But tell me it does not
lift your faith right here
00:26:42.50\00:26:48.84
in your situation to know
that God has already made a way.
00:26:48.87\00:27:00.08
That's how you
make it right there,
00:27:00.12\00:27:03.82
Jesus has already made a way.
00:27:03.85\00:27:07.16
Hold me Jesus until
your word is fulfilled,
00:27:07.19\00:27:12.39
that's the power of God
who answers before the storm
00:27:12.43\00:27:17.73
that's the power of a
God who is in control.
00:27:18.03\00:27:22.74
Oh Our Father in Heaven,
since you control the universe
00:27:22.77\00:27:26.57
surely, You control our
lives and strengthen our faith
00:27:26.61\00:27:30.31
that we may lean on you even
when we are shelling out water
00:27:30.35\00:27:34.65
and we thank you
already for your answer.
00:27:34.68\00:27:37.65
In thy name we pray. Amen. Amen.
00:27:37.69\00:27:41.32
You know God has plans for
you He does, you just walk with
00:27:41.36\00:27:44.73
your hand in His
hand and He will lead you
00:27:44.76\00:27:47.23
to His
destination. May He bless you.
00:27:47.26\00:27:50.50
And as always,
friends, be encouraged.
00:27:50.53\00:27:54.37