The night before Peter was scheduled to be executed, we find him sleeping soundly in his prison cell. How is this possible? We’ll revisit the storm on the Sea of Galilee in search of answers.
Transcription (automatically-generated):
We ended our Bible study last week on a cliffhanger. Seeking to please the unruly subjects he was tasked with overseeing. The governor Herod Agrippa had the apostle James beheaded. Noting the positive response of the upper Jewish class in Jerusalem, he decided to continue talking, targeting the leaders of the Jerusalem Church by arresting the Apostle Peter. His plan was to execute him too, in front of the people in just a few days at the end of the feast of unleavened bread.
Wanting to prevent any supernatural jailbreak or any other shenanigans, Herod Agrippa secured Peter with four teams of four soldiers who rotated every 6 hours to keep him under constant surveillance. Two would be beside him in his cell, and two would be outside his cell door. Let's continue. Now, in Acts chapter twelve, verse five, it says So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently for him. Would you underline praying fervently in the original Greek?
The word fervently is like the word earnestly used in Luke's Gospel to describe the state of Jesus's prayer in the garden of Gethsemane on the night of his arrest. In Luke 22:44, it's on your outlines, it says being in anguish, he, that's Jesus, prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. If you've read the Gospels, you know the moment Jesus is aware that his arrest, torture and crucifixion are imminent, he knows that for the first time in eternity, he will soon be separated from his heavenly Father as he becomes our sin on the cross. And the prospect of that, the prospect of being separated from his Father is tearing Jesus apart emotionally and psychologically. The Greek word implies being stretched as far as something can without breaking.
And the way Jesus prayed in that moment is similar to how the church was praying fervently for Peter. Having just lost James, they were overwhelmed with emotional anguish at the prospect of losing another beloved brother and elder. Why is there no record of the church praying like this for James? The text doesn't tell us, but I think it's likely that James was arrested and executed very soon after. He wasn't held in jail for a time as Peter was.
There probably was no opportunity to pray for James because the church simply received word that he had been arrested and executed. Verse six, when Herod was about to bring him that's Peter out for trial that very night, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers. While the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. Peter was likely chained to the two guards who were with him in his cell. But I want us to notice that the night before his scheduled execution, Peter was sleeping.
He's sleeping. And I wonder how many of us would be sleeping the night before we knew we were scheduled to die. How is Peter able to demonstrate that kind of peace in those kind of circumstances? Well, firstly, I suggest mature believers, mature followers of Jesus, view their lives as being in his hands. He is our Lord.
We belong to Him, body and soul. He has full rights over our lives, and he can end them whenever he chooses by ending them himself or allowing them to be brought to an end by natural means like age, illness, or by outside forces like persecution, peter had made peace with the reality that his earthly life belonged to Jesus. Secondly, if you've read the Gospels, you'll be familiar with the moving scene that unfolds when Jesus restores Peter after he had denied even knowing Jesus three times on the night Jesus was arrested in that interaction. Jesus also tells Peter, this is on your outlines too, very truly. I tell you when you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted.
But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Jesus had told Peter that he would die when he was old, and Peter wasn't old yet. When Jesus told Peter his hands would be stretched out, he was prophesying that Peter would die by being crucified as his Lord was. And history tells us that's exactly how Peter died, but with one notable difference.
Peter was crucified upside down at his own request because he did not consider himself worthy to die in the same manner as his Savior. Thirdly, the reason that Peter was able to sleep the night before he was scheduled to be executed was because he had been in a life threatening situation before with Jesus. And I believe that by this point in his life he had learned and was practicing what Jesus had taught him in and through that life threatening situation. That lesson, and those lessons are so important for us as well. That's where we're going to be hanging out today in our studies.
So if you would turn with me to the Gospel of Mark, chapter four and verse 35. Mark 435. Matthew, Mark, Luke, john. We read in Mark, chapter four, verse 35 on that day when evening had come, he that's Jesus told them, the disciples, let's cross over to the other side. Underline let's cross over to the other side of the sea.
And I asked you to underline that because that's the clear word that Jesus has spoken to them. He said, this is what's going to happen, guys. We're going to the other side. And that's all Jesus said. He didn't share any details about difficulties that might arise during the journey.
He just said, we're going to the other side. That's the agenda. Then we read in verses 36 so they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat and other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose and the waves were breaking over the boat so that the boat was already being swamped. Waves begin to surge as a storm erupts on the Sea of Galilee.
The Sea of Galilee has had waves measured in recent decades as high as 25ft, and waves are actually measured from the back. So we're talking about a face of a wave as high as 40ft on the Sea of Galilee. This wasn't a little bit of drizzle on the lake. We're talking about a sea that was terrorizing a boat full of seasoned fishermen. It was life threatening.
We read he, that's Jesus was in the stern sleeping on the cushion underline the word sleeping. The wind is howling, the waves are raging, there's water splashing all over the place in the boat, and there's Jesus curled up, sleeping like a baby. What? How is that even remotely possible? It's real simple.
It seems impossible to us because we're not Jesus, but it's real simple. He trusted his Heavenly Father completely. Completely. In Jesus's mind, the Father would not allow anything to happen to Him that would prevent their plan from being accomplished. His Father wasn't going to let the plan of salvation that was made before the foundations of the world were laid be derailed because the Son of God died in a boating accident wasn't going to let it happen.
Jesus knew that. He didn't just know it intellectually, but he believed it. He trusted his Father, and he lived his life 100% based on that belief and trust in His Father. So if he noticed a storm was coming while he was in the boat and they were already a mile out to sea, he figured, my father's got this and I'm tired, so I'm just going to take a nap. And he slept because you're thinking, how can he not wake up?
Let me tell you, he slept like someone who trusted his Father completely. He slept like someone with no anxiety whatsoever. Jesus had absolute faith in his Heavenly Father's love and care for him. So they woke him up and said to Him, teacher, don't you care that we're going to die? Now, underline those words of the disciples, don't you care that we're going to die?
Their question always moves me because I've been there more than once. Perhaps you have too. There's a storm of a fiery trial in your life that feels like it's going to engulf you, it's going to overwhelm you. And so the disciples respond to this storm, as we often do to ours, by questioning Jesus. Don't you care what's happening to me?
Are you completely out of touch with what's going on in my life? Don't you see this? Are you even listening to me? Do something. I'm dying here.
Our natural fleshly reaction is never faith, is it? It's never faith. It's to accuse God of not caring. And because God doesn't respond to our frantic panic in like kind, we conclude that he must not care if he doesn't explicitly reveal what he's going to do. His plan must be to do nothing.
He just left us to die. Our natural fleshly reaction is to question whether the God who died for us really loves us. Let me say that again. Our natural fleshly reaction is to question whether the God who died for us really loves us.
The thought is as crazy as it sounds. And like the disciples, instead of faith, we prophesy and speak the worst case scenario. We're going to die. We're going to die. Notice that none of them are saying what Jesus said at the beginning of the journey.
None of them are saying, hey guys, remember Jesus said we're going to the other side. Nobody's saying that we're going to die.
Up to this point in the storm, God has been silent, but he's been present. And I can promise you this the more you learn about Jesus, the more you will love Jesus. The more you walk with Jesus, the more you will love Jesus. And the more you love Jesus, the more precious it becomes to you. Just that he's with you.
Just that he's with you. Forget doing anything for you, just the fact that he's with you becomes incalculably precious. And the older I get, the more years I walk with the Lord, the more I find myself praying. Lord. Thank you.
Just that you're with me. Thank you that you're with me right now. Thank you that you never leave me, you never forsake me. Thank you that nothing can separate me from Your love. If you belong to Jesus and you're in a storm right now where God seems to be silent, I promise you he's still present.
He's in the boat with you. He's in it with you like the disciples in the boat in the storm. Peter was only in this storm because he was doing what Jesus had commanded him to do. And I point that out because sometimes we think that every storm in our lives must be the result of us being disobedient to God. Sometimes that's the case.
Those are what we call the natural consequences of our sins. But it's not always the case as we see with the disciples in Peter in Acts chapter twelve. In both cases, followers of Jesus were doing exactly what Jesus had told them to do and yet they found themselves in life threatening storms. The disciples reaction and questioning of Jesus reveals they believed that because they were obeying Jesus, everything would go smoothly. And they're freaking out because that belief is is being shredded by the storm.
This doesn't fit the narrative. We're hanging with you Jesus. We're doing what you say to do. How would he be in this situation? How is this possible?
I'm sure none of you have ever felt the same way or believed something similar. I suspect this applies more to our online listeners who don't have as much faith as all of us. When you haven't yet learned how to trust God in the middle of a storm, you'll often get frustrated when people speak to you in spiritual terms. Someone says something like, keep trusting God, man. He's got you.
And we'll respond, or at least have the thought of something like, yeah, yeah, I know what the Bible says, and I believe that, but this is real. This is really happening to me right now. And I don't need someone to pray with me. I need some real help. I need some real answers.
And like the proverbial tube of toothpaste being squeezed, it is suddenly revealed we're not actually full of faith, we're just full of it. We have more faith in the negative power of our circumstance than we do in the love of our God.
And so allow your mind to imagine the scene. The disciples are hysterical. Jesus is waking up from his wonderful deep sleep to panicked men screaming in his face that they're all about to die and asking him why he doesn't care about them. The sky is dark. The next wave could take them out any moment.
And Jesus hasn't said a word yet, and he doesn't respond to any of them. We read in verses 39, he got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Silence. Be still. The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Picture this in your mind. Imagine what it would be like to be the disciples. And the boat is going up and down on these giant swells of probably at least ten or 15ft, and then it goes down and just stops, and the sea just turns to glass like that.
And then he speaks to them. He said to them, Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?
If you walk with Jesus for a while, you'll go through some storms that feel life threatening, and there's a 99.99% chance you'll react in a way that will lead Jesus to ask you similar questions.
Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?
In light of all you've seen of me, in light of all I've already done in your life, in light of my track record of perfect faithfulness, why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?
The word of God says, remember, I'm with you always to the end of the age. It says, we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
It says, My God will supply all your needs according to his riches, in glory, in Christ Jesus. And Jesus said, Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?
Jesus wanted the disciples to realize that while they believed in him, they didn't yet believe him, and he wanted to invite them to believe him. In Luke's gospel, Jesus asks them, where is your faith? Where is your faith? The truthful answer would have been our faith was in the storm. They were absolutely confident in the storm's power.
They were certain of it. We're going to die. They were talking about it, meditating on it, discussing its power over them, but nobody was talking about what Jesus had said. Nobody remembered that. I'm not talking about denying reality here.
I'm talking about recognizing full reality, ultimate reality. The storm was mercy seat, but so was the presence and power of Jesus. And Jesus was and still is greater than the storm.
When Jesus commanded the storm's silence, be still, he was using a phrase in the original Greek that means be muzzled. It's the same phrase that Jesus uses to cast out demons on two other occasions in the Gospels. Therefore, most Bible scholars believe, and I do too, that this storm was supernatural in nature. In other words, it was stirred up by demonic forces. It could have been an assassination attempt by Satan.
That's possible. Or it could have been that Satan was trying to prevent Jesus from reaching the other side of the Sea of Galilee because of who was living on the other side. And if you're curious, you can go and read about that in Mark chapter five later. But Jesus wasn't concerned about the storm or even about the fact it was stirred up by demonic forces. His attitude was, that's just the kingdom of darkness doing what the kingdom of darkness does.
What did concern Jesus was that believers were not doing what believers are supposed to do. What concerned Jesus was his disciples lack of faith. Yes, Jesus is concerned about our practical needs and about our health, but he's much, much, much more concerned about our faith. He's much more concerned about us learning to trust Him because that will affect our eternity. Jesus asks the disciples some probing and revealing questions, and they've got nothing to say.
And that was okay, because his questions were an invitation to reflect on their faith and their beliefs about him. While they don't give Jesus any answers, they at least respond appropriately in verses 41 where we read and they were terrified and asked one another, who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him. And they changed from fearing the wind and the waves to fearing Jesus. They were terrified by the power of the storm, but they were even more terrified by the one who interacted with the storm as though it were a well trained puppy commanding its silence.
Be still. In Matthew's gospel, it says they were amazed. Amazed. I would have been too. I'm sure that in the years following the resurrection of Jesus, all the disciples reflected over and over again on every word they ever heard him say, on everything they ever saw him do.
Because following the resurrection, they would have quickly begun to realize we were missing some really big stuff. Let's replay it in our mind over and over and over. Let's write it down, because they would have understood it on a completely different level once they received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. And when Peter was reflecting on this event, the storm on the Sea of Galilee, I'm sure he realized several things, several lessons he had learned. And the first one is this.
Would you write it down on your outlines? Peter learned that God's word will never fail. God's word will never fail. Psalm 119 89 says, lord, your word is forever. It is firmly fixed in heaven.
Jesus said they were crossing over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, so no matter what happened along the way, they would end up on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. And despite the storm, they did. Jesus had told Peter he would be old when he died, therefore, it could not be his time to die. Yet, as Peter reflected on what he learned on the Sea of Galilee, I suggest the second thing he learned was that in a storm, the fruit of faith is peace. In a storm, the fruit of faith is peace.
The fruit of faith looks different in different situations. Sometimes the fruit of faith involves taking action. But what Peter witnessed in that boat with Jesus was that when you're in a storm, the fruit, the evidence of real faith is peace. It's peace. The greatest faith was demonstrated by Jesus, who trusted his heavenly Father so completely he was sleeping.
To be a disciple of Jesus, to be a follower of Jesus, means we want to be like him. We want to be like him. We really do. Try to ask the question, what would Jesus do in every situation of our lives? That's the goal.
As the disciples realized there was nothing they could do to fight the storm. It was too big. It was too strong. What should they have done? What should they have done?
They should have looked at Jesus, seen what he was doing, and done the same thing for real. As crazy as it sounds. They should have let go of the rudder, let go of the ropes, connected to the sails, and laid down next to Jesus. They should have trusted their lives to their heavenly Father, just as Jesus was doing.
As Peter reflected, I'm sure he learned this. Write this down that God may at times be silent, but he's always present. God may at times be silent, but he is always present.
Peter also learned that a storm isn't evidence that you are out of God's will or that his plans have been derailed. Peter only ended up in that situation because he and the other disciples were obeying Jesus's command to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that if you obey God and stay in his will. Life will be smooth sailing. I wish it did, but it doesn't say that.
Paul told Timothy, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And Jesus told his disciples, you will have suffering in this world. Was the plan of salvation in danger of failing for even a second during the storm? No, not even for a second. And so just because Peter was in chains, in jail, scheduled to be executed the next morning, did not mean that God's plans were defeated or that Peter had been operating outside the will of God.
As Peter reflected, I'm sure he concluded that there is a greater reality than the storm I'm facing. Write that down. There's a greater reality than the storm I'm facing. Jesus is greater than the storm. The plans of God are greater than the plans of any man.
God's kingdom is greater than the kingdoms of this world. Heaven is greater than Earth, and eternity is greater than this present life. Peter knew the one he had placed his faith in, and he was at peace, knowing his life was in God's hands. When Jesus took Peter, James and John up a mountain to pray, they all fell asleep because they didn't expect anything to happen. They were awakened by the transfiguration Jesus in his glorified state, speaking with the spirits of Elijah and Moses in the garden of Gethsemane.
On the night of his arrest, Jesus takes Peter, James and John aside and asks them to pray with him. This is the moment when Jesus is in such emotional and psychological agony that he's sweating drops of blood. And what does Peter do? He falls asleep because he doesn't grasp how important prayer is. But on this night, Peter isn't sleeping because he lacks faith.
Peter's sleeping because he has it.
In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul wrote I'm sure of this that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Paul was talking about the process of sanctification. That's the theological term for the work of the Holy Spirit that he's always doing in our lives toward one end to make us more like Jesus. When we go to be with the Lord, the work will be complete. The apostle John says, when he appears, we will be like him.
But how much we become like Jesus in this life will affect our eternity. I'm not speaking of our salvation. All who trust in Jesus will be with him forever. But the Bible speaks of eternal rewards. It speaks of us reigning with Jesus, but not all having identical roles and responsibilities.
And how we live our earthly lives will affect our future rewards, roles and responsibilities in the kingdom of God. And some will say, All I want to do is make it to heaven. That's all I care about. I don't care about any of that other stuff. Listen, we don't know exactly what those eternal rewards are going to be, but when they're revealed, I promise you this if you wasted your life, you will regret it.
You will regret it. Because when we're in eternity with Jesus and we have the capacity to finally actually grasp what eternity is, we'll all agree with David as we look back on our earthly lives, who wrote that our time on this earth is but a vapor. It's a vapor compared to eternity. It's a snap of the fingers compared to eternity. And of course, becoming more like Jesus is not only the wisest and most profitable way to live in light of eternity, it's the wisest and most profitable way to live right now.
It's the path to the greatest peace, love, hope, and joy that we can experience right now. And that's why those who follow Jesus want to be sanctified. We want to be changed by the Holy Spirit. We want to be conformed to the image of Christ. We want to be made more like Him.
Hebrews eleven six reveals the main thing the Holy Spirit is working on in our lives. It says, without faith, it is impossible to please God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek Him. It all comes down to faith. It all comes down to believing that God is who he says he is.
This is why in the storm on the Sea of Galilee, jesus's primary concern is the faith of his disciples. And it's why in the storms in our lives, Jesus's primary concern is our faith. And if you've walked closely with Jesus for a while, you've walked into some storms. And whether you realize it or not, whether you've got to the point of seeing this yet or not, when you do, you find yourself ending like the disciples at first. Don't you care that I'm going to die?
Don't you care that I'm going under?
And you'll find that Jesus will never respond to you by saying something like, okay, I hear you. Grab a pen. I'm going to give you a ten step plan for fixing every problem that you've brought to my attention right now. He'll never do that. Instead, you find a Jesus who responds by saying, why don't you sit down next to me and be still for a minute?
Why don't you sit down next to me for a minute? What's going on in your heart right now? Where's your faith at?
And you'll respond by saying something like, where's my faith at? Are you seriously trying to have a heart to heart conversation with me right now? The boat is seeking we don't have time for that. When we fix this, we can talk about this as much as you want, Jesus, but can we please focus on the most important thing right now?
And Jesus will reply, this is the most important thing. This is the most important thing. Trust me. Sit down next to me. Be still.
And when you finally accept his invitation, something amazing begins to happen. While you're just sitting with Jesus, you begin to remember who he is.
You begin to remember how much he loves you.
You begin to remember how great his grace and his mercy and his power are, and you begin to remember the promises he's made in His Word. And your perspective begins to change, and nobody is saying anything. Your perspective begins to change, and the greater reality begins to come into view, and that greater reality begins to overwhelm your present reality. And your perspective changes from I'm in a boat in a storm with Jesus to I'm in a boat in a storm with Jesus, and you remember how precious it is, just that he's with you. And the words of Hebrews 13 are true.
He Himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. Therefore we may boldly say the Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
Just as Jesus told the disciples, we're going to the other side, jesus has told all who trust in Him, we're going to the other side. In Ephesians 113 and 14, the Apostle Paul writes in Him, you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. Tune in here. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance until the redemption of the possession to the praise of his glory. Paul's using a shipping analogy, because back then, when someone wanted to ship something from one place to another, they would generally travel with their goods or close behind it.
And what they would do is they would box up their stuff in a crate or put it in jars and then tie ropes around it so that you would have to break the ropes to get into it. And then where the ropes crossed over, they would put hot wax and press their signet ring into the hot wax. And when the cargo reached its destination, nobody could redeem it. Nobody could claim it, other than the person who had the matching signet ring indicating they were the owner of that cargo. And what Paul is telling believers there in Ephesians one is that the Holy Spirit that is placed in us when we put our faith in Jesus, that Holy Spirit is the signet of God.
It marks us as his possession, and it guarantees that we're going to make it to the other side no matter what. We're going to arrive in his presence. He's going to welcome us, and no one verse is going to be able to claim us while we're on the way. The destination is set. The outcome is inevitable.
The only question is whether we live our lives. Acting like those facts are true or acting as though they're not. Will we believe God and honor Him with the faith of those who know we're going to the other side?
Peter had a specific word from the Lord. He had a promise that he would be old when he died. Peter did the right thing and trusted the Lord. I'm going to assume most of us have not received a similar promise from the Lord. As I mentioned earlier, Peter would die later.
He'd be martyred, crucified upside down. And I share that because I want us to understand again that God doesn't promise that every storm will end with us making it to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Some storms will end with us making it to the other side, to heaven. And praise God for that, because those are far better shores to reach. God doesn't promise that the boat won't take any damage.
He doesn't promise that we might not sustain some injuries along the way. What he promises is that he'll be with us the whole time. He'll never leave us. He'll never forsake us. He'll be our joy.
He'll be our strength. He'll be our rest. He'll do good through every circumstance, and he will reward our faith and eternity. And those who know the Lord, who truly know Him will gladly say, that's more than enough. That's more than enough.
The Apostle Paul was overwhelmed by the greater reality of eternity, and it radically affected the way he lived his life. He understood what he wrote to the Philippians when he said, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. Because of Him, I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. My goal is to know Him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. Every storm is an opportunity to know more of Jesus, because in a storm, Jesus comes even closer to those who love Him.
And since the age of the apostles, believers have discovered that it's in the storm that Jesus's voice becomes clear and his presence becomes tangible. That's what Paul had tapped into. He had realized that in his trials he found more of Jesus, and everything else in life paled in comparison to more of Jesus and Paul. That's why Paul said, bring on the pain, bring on the suffering, bring on death. If it means I get more of Jesus, know this in the storm, there's an invitation from Jesus to experience a closeness with Him on a level you've never experienced before.
It's a closeness that only comes when we stop trying to fight the storm and start holding on to him.
So hold on to Jesus. Hold on to Jesus. I'm going to invite the worship team up, and I'll close with this.
Hebrews 1023 says, let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering. Since he who promised is faithful.
When we're not in a storm, we have no problem saying, Jesus is my hope. What the writer of Hebrews is saying is, listen, Jesus doesn't change. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. So, let's be a people who don't have a wavering confession. Let's not be a people who say, God is good.
Jesus is my hope. When we're out of the storm and then can't seem to find those words when we're in it, we serve a faithful, unchanging God. So, let's make sure we're a people who speak of Him in an unchanging way. He's good. He's faithful when I'm in the storm.
He's good. He's faithful when I'm out of the storm. Remember, God's word will never fail in a storm. The fruit of faith is peace. God may at times be silent, but he is always present.
A storm is an evidence that you're out of God's will or that his plans have been derailed. And never forget there's a greater reality than the storm that you are facing.
Paul wrote in Philippians four, don't worry about anything, but in everything. Through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. In this coming time of worship, I want to invite you to do that. If you're in a storm, heading into a storm, dealing with the remnants of a storm in your life, paul's counsel is take it to the Lord in prayer, but he says, do it with thanksgiving.
Now, what does he mean? He doesn't mean thank you for the storm, Lord. He means, thank you that you're with me. Thank you that you never leave me, nor forsake me. Thank you that you're always faithful.
Thank you that you do something good in every situation. Thank you that no matter what happens, this story ends with me. With you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Paul says, if you're troubled, go sit next to Jesus. Start thanking him for his goodness. Watch what begins to happen to your mind. Watch what begins to happen to your heart.
With that, let's bow our heads. Let's close our eyes, and let's pray together. Jesus, thank you so much for loving us. And thank you, first of all, that you are the greater reality. You are the Logos.
You are everything. You are the alpha, you are the omega. You are the beginning and the end. You are the first and the last. You are unrivaled.
You are unparalleled. You are without peer. You are beyond comparison. There is no scale on which you and anything else can be placed or measured because you are immeasurable in Your greatness and equally immeasurable in Your compassion and Your kindness and Your grace and Your mercy and Your love and Your faithfulness.
We know that's who you are. So, Jesus, forgive us for any time a thought or a word to the contrary has sprung to our minds or left our lips. Forgive us, God, anytime we have misrepresented you to someone else or even to ourselves.
Help us in this coming time to just sit at your feet, be still with you, and remember who you are.
We don't thank you that everything is going to work out perfectly in every situation in our lives. We know it's not. But we thank you that you're with us. We thank you that you're with us. That's worth more than anything else.
And if there's more of you that we can have than we wanted, whatever it costs. So I pray right now for every brother, every sister in this room who is in a storm, father, I pray that they will experience even now the more of you that is available in this storm. I pray that they will experience Your closeness, that they will hear Your voice, that they will be ministered to just by Your presence. Not a ten step action plan, but just the knowledge you are with them. And you're always doing good.
Always. So make us more like you. Jesus. We want to be sanctified. Do it, Lord.
Do it, Lord. We love you and we bless you. It's in Your name we pray. Amen.