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Series Code: ILL
Program Code: ILL230007S
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00:14 Praise the Lord, everyone, welcome to Imperative Life Lessons.
00:19 I'm Pastor Ryan Johnson, Isaiah Chapter 65 and verse 24 states; 00:36 Examining this text, several veritable truths are seen. 00:40 Firstly, who's speaking here? Well, who is it that answers 00:45 prayers? If we look back within that same chapter, verse eight, 00:50 it reads, Thus saith the Lord. So, it is God who speaks 00:55 in verse eight. It is God who is speaking in verse 24 00:58 stating that He will answer. Also, this passage kind of has 01:04 the sound of prophecy does it not? 01:06 Predicting the future, it shall come to pass that I will answer. 01:12 This is God's immutable promise, but then it's clear from the 01:18 reading that God expects us to call upon Him, 01:22 this is also immutable. We are to call upon our God, 01:26 we must, we gotta, or he doesn't just say hey, 01:29 I will provide, although He certainly does provide 01:33 but rather, he states, I will answer. 01:36 One does not answer if one is not first called. 01:42 Which brings us to another implication of this text 01:46 that there are instances where God has an answer an offer, 01:51 an opportunity for relationship. 01:53 Yet many do not call upon Him, and if God has an answer 01:58 waiting yet we don't pray, it's kind of like we are 02:03 standing God up. Ya ever think of it like that? 02:06 I mean, He's all dressed up for a fine date with us 02:09 but we don't show, leaving Him expectant, unwanted. 02:15 The verse then declares that as we are speaking 02:20 God, who has already provided an answer is compassionate 02:24 enough to hear, to listen and if that isn't proof 02:28 that God desires a relationship with us, I don't know what is. 02:31 He says, I desire to hear to fellowship. Beautiful, lovely, 02:37 pondersome, but this lesson focuses on the fascinating 02:43 supernatural, extraordinary, word in that text. 02:47 A word that takes it to the next level, it denotes power, 02:51 omniscience, control, and the word is before, before they call 02:59 prior to the prayer and effect that precedes the cause 03:04 God knowing the beginning from the end. 03:07 That word is a temporal word in the English language, 03:13 an adverb, a preposition, a subordinating conjunction, 03:16 and it's presence or position, can dictate the nature of a 03:21 conversation. God could have said, you know, they call, 03:25 I answer, but when God says before they call 03:30 things are taking up a notch shows that we serve a God 03:34 who infinite in both the past and the future, He is temporally 03:39 unbound, and He answers us, and this is the crux of our 03:44 lesson. But there are two other scriptural calls that 03:50 we are going to make today. Well, take in the scenery, 03:53 breathe in the air, but then as we approach a very significant 03:58 standpoint, I'll give a queue so that we may focus 04:03 and be prayerful for today we see God before the storm. 04:10 Father in heaven, thank you for being the God 04:13 that answers before we call, save us in your kingdom, 04:17 in Thy Name we pray, Amen, and Amen! 04:20 In the 4th chapter of Mark, Jesus has a full day 04:26 of ministry, He speaks to us about the kingdom of God 04:30 Mark chapter 4 verse 26, He tells the parable of the sower 04:34 of the devouring enemy and of the seed which falls upon 04:38 different grounds, it's Mark: Chapter 4, verse 3. 04:41 Faith, Jesus tells us in Mark 4:31, if only as that of a 04:46 mustard seed is sufficient enough such that one could 04:51 transplant mountains. 04:53 By the way, in that parable, is He stating that 04:57 moving mountains only requires a little faith, 05:00 or that a mustard seed is full of faith? Theologians argue 05:07 think it depends on how the Holy Spirit applies the parable 05:11 to you, which lesson do you need to learn? 05:14 that your faith in Christ is enough, or that you lack faith. 05:20 umm. So, lets proceed. Verse 35, it says; 05:54 The account of the pressing tempest is also found 05:58 in Matthew and Luke, but there are details here in Mark that 06:02 are not in the other accounts and one reason may be that 06:06 John Mark, the writer of the gospel of Mark is believed to 06:10 have received his gospel narrative from none other than 06:13 Simon Peter himself, 06:15 who calls Mark his son in I Peter Chapter 5: verse 13. 06:20 Because Peter was a fisherman, so Peter had a perspective 06:23 on sea storms that the other gospel writers 06:26 would not have had. 06:27 Maybe John could have elaborated from his own maritime experience 06:31 but the story isn't covered in the gospel of John. 06:34 So, after a very full day, Jesus commands that they pass 06:39 to the other side, they were all tired but it was a good tired, 06:44 the satisfying exhaustion that can only come from ministering 06:49 to others with Jesus. I remember one particular Sabbath 06:53 after working all night and then all day, I came home 06:58 and I fell out on the couch and then my dad called me. 07:01 And in a groggy voice, I answered, hey, dad, 07:04 and he responded how are you pastor? 07:07 I'm so tired, I said, then my dad was quiet, right? 07:10 and then he says, but son, it's a good tired, isn't it? 07:16 Laughter. Yes, it was, working for the Lord. 07:19 The disciples were a good tired having seen the healing 07:23 of lepers, Matthew Chapter 8, heard the word, felt the rising 07:28 tide of hope. But Jesus, well, Jesus was weary on a 07:34 different level, He was all God yet He was all human 07:39 and while His ear ever listened, His heart ever broke with 07:45 compassion. His humanity would not allow Him to work 07:50 without rest. So, church is over for now. 07:54 And He sends the multitude away and He retires to the vessel 07:58 from which He had been preaching in verse one. 08:01 And Jesus goes to the stern and under the watchful eye 08:06 of the Father and the baleful eye of the enemy 08:10 Jesus falls asleep. What does it mean that He falls asleep? 08:16 What can we learn from it? Well, we can learn a lot. 08:19 But today we learn that Jesus, Son of God has laid His 08:25 power aside to the degree that He gets sleepy. 08:29 But just as with us, when Christ closes His eyes in sleep 08:35 the Great Controversy continued and that baleful enemy 08:39 planned a storm in an attempt to drown the Saviour 08:42 and His growing church. 08:44 They spoke in Semi-hushed tones so as to not disturb Christ 08:50 as they navigated the vessel toward the far end of the sea. 08:55 Can you feel their contentment? A good tired, a blessed day 09:00 behind them, the hope for a blessed day ahead 09:03 and now the simple joy that comes from knowing what Jesus 09:08 desires of you and putting your heart into doing it. 09:14 And then trouble arrived, storms recur in scripture 09:21 Noah, Elijah, Jonah, Paul, even in Daniel, in chapter seven 09:25 if you look at it that way, we could study the scriptural 09:28 significance of inclement weather for our whole lives 09:32 and never exhaust the lessons that we would learn. 09:34 Verse 37 of Mark 4 informs us that there arose a great storm 09:42 of wind, Matthew 8 calls it a tempest, Luke said it is a storm 09:47 but all state that as a result water began to batter 09:53 the boat. One writer states that it became dark to the 09:57 point of blackness. The howling of the elements was terrifying 10:02 the disorienting nature of the gale was disheartening 10:06 but it was the water that buffeted the boat, 10:09 that began filling the boat, that could have crushed the boat. 10:15 Hmm. A gallon of water is about eight pounds, a 50-gallon bucket 10:21 then weighs 400 pounds, can you imagine what would happen 10:26 if you got hit with 50 gallons of water all at once? 10:30 What about 5,000 gallons? What about an entire wave? 10:36 We all know that water will drown you, but also the weight 10:40 of the water can crush you. 10:43 In Revelation chapter 17, verse 15, we're told that in Prophecy 10:49 the waters represent nations and people, 10:52 so let's apply that to the storms that we may experience. 10:56 The winds of strife may blow, the darkness of these times 10:59 may descend upon us, but the waters of the world. 11:03 The nation against nation, the politicizing, the unrest, 11:08 the pressures, the apostasy, the to and fro of this society 11:12 that's what makes so much of this unbearable 11:15 and without God, the world can crush us, pull us down, 11:21 destroy us, the waters that are dangerous. 11:27 Well, literal waters threaten the ship of future apostles 11:33 and their Savior as Satan attempted to take it under. 11:37 Now, look at this. When you are in a storm on the water 11:46 in a boat of this little vessel may not be sea worthy 11:51 but I know from experience that it's tub worthy. 11:53 Laughter. The waves may be coming at you 11:57 this way and in such a case, you don't want to veer away 12:02 and run from it, or you will be carried away by the water 12:07 and you may wind up somewhere God never intended. Hmm. 12:09 And you should never ever position your vessel sideways 12:15 perpendicular to the direction of the oncoming waves 12:20 don't present your side, don't just give it the hand, 12:23 don't be ignorant of it because then you will present 12:27 the greatest surface area to the water, and it will 12:30 topple you over. 12:32 So, how do you deal with waves in a storm? 12:35 You know what you do? You face it head-on 12:39 that way, you cut through the assault, you ride the waves 12:43 up and down when you got Jesus in the boat, 12:46 you can face the storm head on as a family, head on as a church 12:52 head on as a denomination, head on, so the disciples 12:57 would have battled the waves and then being experienced 13:01 maritime warriors and being spiritual here, having Jesus 13:06 in the vessel, they would have turned head on into the storm 13:11 riding the waves, doing what God said do. 13:14 Tell me that's not a beautiful image, isn't that a 13:17 powerful thing to contemplate? Laughter. But then the word says 13:23 in verse 37, it says; 13:33 Despite their best efforts, despite their purest intentions 13:37 despite their whole objections water was filling the boat 13:42 filling the boat, and they're sinking, they began just hand 13:48 scooping water out of the boat, just shelling water out 13:53 and this too is part of it isn't it? 13:55 Part of our life experience, huh? 13:58 We start out so confidently huh? So formally in the storm 14:02 calling out commands, Port side, I don't know, 14:05 I'm not a maritime person. 14:07 Lower the sails, huh, we began by rowing and testing the 14:11 direction of the wind, judging the depths and stuff, 14:15 rallying the crew, starboard side. But then we sometimes 14:19 find ourselves completely defeated, desperate on our 14:23 hands and knees just panning out water. 14:27 Shall I get personal? Alright financially? 14:31 We get to the point where we are counting pennies, huh, 14:36 borrowing from our kids piggy bank, and our marriages, 14:39 we're down to watching Netflix because that's the only time 14:43 when we aren't screaming at each other. 14:45 You were hoping that your health would hold up so that you 14:49 could continue going out with your friends, 14:53 but now if you could just get out of bed, 14:55 you'd call that a victory, now you're on your hands and knees 14:59 the oars are forgotten, the crew was scattered, 15:02 the sails are cast aside and you are just shoveling out water 15:07 barely making it...I'm sorry, sorry, am I talking to you? 15:13 Is it you who is down there to your last, down to the wire? 15:17 The disciples were, they were, and you know the story, 15:23 you've heard it a thousand times or maybe this is your first. 15:26 It says then they remember Jesus. 15:32 One writer states that it was an illuminating flash 15:36 of lightning and in the brief flash Jesus. 15:41 Others say that it was I who didn't know, something that had 15:44 reminded them of the miracles they'd seen that day. 15:47 Oh no, we're sinking, we're all going to die, wait, hold up 15:51 didn't we see the dead resurrected today, ahk, 15:54 Jesus is in the boat. Sometimes it's like that. 15:58 We feel utterly defeated but then suddenly we're reminded 16:02 or it is illuminated that we are not alone, the disciples 16:06 remember that Jesus Christ Emmanuel, God with us 16:11 was with them in the boat. 16:15 And if you look at verse 38 it states; 16:29 Do you not care that we are dying? 16:31 Does it not bother you that we are down here shelling out 16:35 water with our hands, does It does not concern you 16:38 that our next stop on our little journey here is the deep 16:42 the bottom? Do you care that I'm suffering, Lord? 16:45 What's up, Jesus? You must have wondered that 16:49 at some point, or am I the only one that has struggled with God? 16:54 The disciples wondered, they marveled even that Jesus was 16:59 asleep in the boat. 17:01 Lord, we've seen you heal, we've seen you move 17:03 we could use a little power right about now. 17:07 Right about now. 17:11 Did you know that a storm can take weeks to form? 17:19 Hurricanes fester for weeks don't they? 17:23 But even a microburst, a squall which can seem so sudden 17:29 or tornado's and waterspouts they take time to form, they do. 17:33 Let's walk through it quickly. 17:35 At the time of the preparation of this lesson, the wind speed 17:40 courtesy of Google, on the Sea of Galilee was about 17:43 one mile per hour, very calm, yes. 17:45 Now, because the lake features the separation of the African 17:52 and the Arabian Geologic Tectonic plates, 17:55 the lake, which is primarily fed by the Jordan River 17:59 is very low in elevation. In fact, it is the lowest 18:04 Freshwater body on earth. Due to its low elevation 18:09 winds from the surrounding hills often descend suddenly 18:14 onto the water, making storms unpredictable and rapid. 18:19 Now the winds themselves are formed by temperature 18:23 and pressure changes in the air often miles away. 18:27 Here's the water, here's the hills and the wind travels 18:31 to the lake, so get this now, that means before there's a 18:35 storm on the lake, there's a breeze in the forest somewhere. 18:39 A temperature front out on the plains, hear me now, hear me 18:42 before there is a gale force on the water, there's a 18:45 gentle force in the hills. 18:48 Before the disciples were aware of the coming danger, 18:51 things were already happening out there in the world 18:54 out in the periphery way back when they were happy 18:58 and ignorant and oblivious stuff was already taking shape. 19:02 Yes, remember when you were happy and oblivious, huh? 19:07 When Covid was just a handful of people with a runny nose 19:10 far away somewhere. 19:12 Remember, before you were facing eviction, and you had just 19:16 accidentally missed the cable bill, back when your marriage 19:19 wasn't a mess. You just wondered where he was all night long 19:24 before the storm. Do you remember? 19:27 Do ya? Okay! Okay! Then here's the queue, 19:33 our lesson, here it is. 19:39 Who was in control before the storm? 19:43 Who saw and measured the gathering breeze 19:48 in the mountains before it was a gale force wind upon the water? 19:52 God did. And guess where God was before the rain 19:58 while the lake was calm. He was there, in control, 20:03 He saw it coming; he saw it forming, even before we were 20:08 panning out water desperately struggling to bring our vessel 20:12 to shore, He was always there He is there way before we even 20:19 know we have a problem. 20:21 In John chapter 11, a grieving Martha cries, Lord, if you'd 20:27 been here, my brother would have not died. 20:31 Lazarus had indeed died, but back before Lazarus had expired 20:35 back when he just had a headache and a sore throat 20:38 Jesus had been aware and had been working things 20:42 for their good. He'd been aware. 20:45 A Mary and Martha storm before they had even seen clouds 20:50 in the skies, and how do we know this? 20:52 How could we believe the fact the minutest pre-crisis 20:57 stirrings of their lives? Those lives are under His command 21:01 because earlier in John 11, Jesus had stated 21:06 this sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God. 21:10 That the Son of God might be glorified thereby, He was 21:14 handling things even before they knew there was a 21:18 major problem, Jesus was already providing an answer 21:22 before the trouble, before the tears, before the storm. 21:26 So, back to our story in Mark Chapter 4. 21:29 The disciples are battling the elements and in verse 38 21:35 they wake up Jesus and say Lord, don't you care? 21:38 And Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves, the same voice 21:44 that in Genesis 1:6 had spoken the water and firmament into 21:48 their form now commands them into obedience. 21:52 Peace, He says, be still and they were still. Wow! 21:59 That's sobering, that is, but again, here's our queue. 22:06 How do we know that Christ was always in control? 22:09 How do we know there was an answer to the disciples prayers 22:15 before they called on Jesus? 22:17 In essence, can we prove from the text the truth of Isaiah 65? 22:22 Well, let me ask you this? When did Jesus receive the power 22:27 to command the wind? 22:28 Did He just wake up with it, just woke up in the boat, ah ha. 22:35 No, he already had it before, therefore if he could command 22:42 the wind there on the lake, He must have had command 22:46 of the wind way back before it was a storm. 22:51 Prior to the pain, He's got the power. 22:55 Prior to our trials, He's got the power. 22:59 So God says in Isaiah chapter 65, love this verse. 23:05 It shall come to pass that before you call, I will answer 23:10 and when you do, even though I've answered already 23:14 I will listen anyhow. I will hear you in the storm. 23:21 But I'm answering before the storm. 23:26 What a mighty Jesus we serve, what a mighty God we serve. 23:30 Laughter. A few years ago, my daddy and I drove from 23:36 North Carolina up to the Washington DC area 23:40 to film none other than Pastor Henry Wright's for a project 23:46 that we were doing, and it was snowing really, really hard. 23:53 We gotten on the road and visibility dropped down 23:58 to almost zero. We're sitting there driving like this 24:02 and all we could see was white, we would take turns 24:07 just kind of driving in the ruts of the cars and trucks 24:10 that had gone before and did we see cars that had spun out 24:14 of control as we were going. Yeah we did. 24:18 Well, maybe you're thinking that the best thing to do 24:20 would be to pull over and just wait it out. 24:23 Ahh, that may not be the best idea in a snow storm 24:26 indeed, I just recently heard from the inclement snow 24:30 that we had in New York there was a young lady who made 24:33 that decision, and she froze to death. 24:35 Yeah, so we had to go forward and the whole time we were 24:40 sitting there praying, and we're going forward. 24:42 Now, it had been my turn to drive and I'm sitting there 24:47 behind the wheel of the car oh, listen to me now 24:50 listen and I'm staring into the whiteness right ahead 24:53 and just the bare glimmer of red lights from the car that is 24:57 in front of me and while I'm driving, yes, 25:00 I'm telling the truth, I just looked over at my dad 25:04 and I said, you know what? I think I'd like to drive 25:06 in the other lane, and I put the car in the other lane 25:11 and just as I did, a fallen tree that was blocking the highway 25:16 went by and we said whoa, did you see that? 25:21 Praise the name of the Lord and I said dad, 25:24 I just felt like I should be in the other lane 25:27 like right now, and I went back to the first lane 25:30 and another tree went by. 25:33 I didn't know the tree was there, we couldn't see the tree 25:38 but we serve a mighty God. 25:42 And before I was aware of an obstacle, God sent the 25:49 Holy Ghost to give me an answer, don't tell me God ain't doing 25:56 something mighty in your life. 25:58 And I think about that as I go through my trials 26:03 please think about that as you go through yours. 26:08 God standing at the helm of your life already answering 26:16 prayers, already making a way even before you are aware 26:23 that there is a problem. 26:25 But pastor, I'm in the problem, and it hurts, it's hard, 26:35 it is difficult. I know. I know. 26:42 But tell me it does not lift your faith right here 26:48 in your situation to know that God has already made a way. 27:00 That's how you make it right there, 27:03 Jesus has already made a way. 27:07 Hold me Jesus until your word is fulfilled, 27:12 that's the power of God who answers before the storm 27:18 that's the power of a God who is in control. 27:22 Oh Our Father in Heaven, since you control the universe 27:26 surely, You control our lives and strengthen our faith 27:30 that we may lean on you even when we are shelling out water 27:34 and we thank you already for your answer. 27:37 In thy name we pray. Amen. Amen. 27:41 You know God has plans for you He does, you just walk with 27:44 your hand in His hand and He will lead you 27:47 to His destination. May He bless you. 27:50 And as always, friends, be encouraged. |
Revised 2025-09-10