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[0:00] Today's lesson is on focus. Anybody need a handout? Lance has the handouts in the back if you didn't get one.! It's amazing today's song with Nancy, never too far from where you are the Lord is. Ethan's message this morning, there's gonna be a lot of overlap. It's amazing how that works, isn't it?

[0:21] Just about every scripture that I've got in here, he covered one way or another in today's message, so just get prepared.

[0:33] But let's start with, first, the disclaimer. There's a disclaimer here. The views of your speaker today may or may not necessarily be the views of the pastor, so if I say something, don't get mad at preacher, come to me, okay, just so there's no misunderstanding.

[0:48] Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity to give the lesson, this privilege, this blessing. I pray that I not say anything to bring reproach upon this ministry, this church, or your word.

[1:03] Give me the words and the wisdom and the discernment as we go forward. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay, so our text today is in Matthew chapter 14, verse 22. We're gonna start there. That should be on your handout.

[1:18] And I'm gonna read it. And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

[1:31] And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with the waves, for the wind was contrary.

[1:47] And in the fourth watch of the night, that's between 3 and 6 a.m. in the morning, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit.

[2:02] And they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I. Be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

[2:18] And he said, Come. And Peter was come down out of the ship and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

[2:31] And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

[2:42] And when they were coming to the ship, the wind ceased. And they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth, thou art the Son of God. Now we see here a lesson that is taking place immediately after the Lord performed a great miracle.

[3:00] One of many. And let's review just for a second. A lot of it was covered this morning by Ethan. But previously in this chapter and the other accounts, John the Baptist had just been killed.

[3:13] Okay? He had just been killed for calling out Herod, taking Philip, his brother's wife, unto himself. And King Herod made a promise.

[3:23] And to fulfill that promise to Herodias' daughter, he had John the Baptist executed. The disciples went and got John the Baptist's body, took it, buried it, came to Jesus and told him what had happened.

[3:38] At that point, Jesus departed and went up and out into the wilderness to pray. But the people in the cities, they followed him. And this is a lot of what was covered this morning with Ethan.

[3:56] And when Jesus saw the great multitudes, he had compassion on them. He healed their sick. No doubt the disciples saw this as well. These people are following Jesus.

[4:08] And Jesus is healing their sick, having compassion on them. And who's up on the mic up there? Could you turn it down just a little bit? Maybe I'll turn my hearing aids down.

[4:20] That might help too. So he saw the great multitudes, healed their sick. No doubt the disciples witnessed this. And now it's late in the day. And the disciples come to Jesus and say, Hey, can you send these people home?

[4:32] It's getting late. And as Ethan covered this morning, Jesus, knowing what he would do to prove them, said there's no need to send them away. Tell them to sit. We're going to feed them.

[4:43] And of course, then the disciples' focus goes immediately to money. We don't have enough money to go and buy this, the food to feed all these people.

[4:54] The next, their focus turns to a lad that was mentioned this morning. One of the, what I call the unnamed or unknown warriors of scripture.

[5:05] You've got the woman at the well. You've got this lad. You've got the maid in the Old Testament that said, I know a man in Israel that healed Naaman the leper.

[5:18] These people aren't named, but they had a great significance. The woman that washed Jesus' feet with her tears and hair. And so we see people in the scripture.

[5:28] And I believe it's significant. And this lad had two fishes and five barley loaves. And as was mentioned again this morning, barley was the poor man's food.

[5:39] You can go back into scripture and you could buy one measure of wheat for a shekel or two measures of barley for a shekel.

[5:49] So wheat was twice as much as barley and cost. So it was the poor man's food. And it was dense. It was made from barley, meal, water, little salt, maybe some oil.

[6:02] That's it. That's all they did. They'd make these cakes with them. Now Andrew sees this lad and said, here's a lad. And he's got this food.

[6:14] But what is that? In a showing of supreme doubt. But what is that among so many? Okay. After all they had seen. Just that day. Not up until that point that they joined Jesus' ministry.

[6:28] And I went back and in my study searched how many major miracles had Jesus performed up to this point that the disciples had all been witness to.

[6:38] And this was like 18 or 19. I mean he had raised the dead. He had healed and cleansed the lepers. Blind had received their sight.

[6:51] Deaf had received their hearing. Just time after time the man was lowered through the roof and healed. And the disciples saw this.

[7:02] In addition to the fact. See I already made somebody mad there already. In addition to the fact that barley was significant.

[7:14] And the accounts that were mentioned this morning. Of the hundred prophets. Or the sons of the prophets. That were fed with twenty loaves of barley bread.

[7:27] And the widow at Zarephath. I think it was. That was. That Lance mentioned last week. That was fed. When Elijah came.

[7:37] And she's just gathering sticks to make her last meal. And it says she fed Elijah. And the Lord didn't let her flour and oil cease until it rained again in Israel.

[7:50] She had enough. It lasted. She had a great bounty. Later on he raised her son from the dead. Her son became ill and got sick. And Elijah raised her son from the dead.

[8:02] So the first focus as I said was on the lack of money. Then they focused on the lack of bread. The frustration of the Lord I believe. And as Ethan elaborated some this morning.

[8:15] He liked to. You know David's men go into the well and the arrows. And I can see the Lord sitting there. Because it says knowing what he was going to do to prove them. When he said make them sit.

[8:26] We're going to feed them. And they're like we don't have any money. And this is not enough bread. You know you see Jesus probably. Okay.

[8:37] So he gets it done. And this is where. Our passage starts. In Matthew. 1422.

[8:48] Jesus constrained his disciples. That's a. That's a word meaning. Get in the boat. Go to the other side.

[8:59] And Jesus says. And I'll send the multitudes away. It's like. Okay. This was to prove you. As it says in another account. And you sort of flunked this test a little bit.

[9:10] You didn't have the faith. And afterwards. Get in the boat. Go to the other side. I'm going to go up. Into a mountain place. And pray. And when he had sent them away.

[9:22] That's what he did. Now prayer is a sustenance. For the Christian. Jesus. At talks. Times. He grows up early in the morning. To pray.

[9:33] At the well. He was praying at midday. And he found the woman. And he. His disciples. Come to the. Come to him. And he said. I have. Meet thee. Meet of. That you know not of. Meaning.

[9:44] Prayer with his father. And then here it says. He went up into a mountain to pray. And it was late in the evening. And we can see. From our text. And the third watch. So.

[9:55] Morning. Noon and night. Three meals a day. At least. I've got this other message. That I've worked on in the past. Three. Three squares a day. Praying in the morning. Noon and night.

[10:05] Now that doesn't mean. That's the only time you can pray. But. It was significant. That those. Times. Were mentioned. And I believe things are mentioned. For specific reasons.

[10:15] In scripture. Why. Is the lad. And the barley. Only mentioned. In the account of John. Because. Each of the gospels. Is directed.

[10:26] Towards a specific group. Of people. But I think. We can take note of that. You know. The barley. Bread. As we said. Was a poor man's food. It was. Ruth. Turned.

[10:37] Into the barley field. And where. Boaz. Said. You know. Let her glean. And she got barley. To survive. And sustain herself. And her mother-in-law. Barley.

[10:49] Plays a significant. Part. In the story. In my view. Christ. Would often. In scripture. Send people away. So he could teach. Additional lessons.

[11:00] To his disciples. In Matthew. 13. 36. He sends. The people away. So he can. Explain. Parables. Okay. In Mark 1. 43.

[11:11] Through 44. He sends. The leper. So he could. Immediately. Sends. The leper away. To go. Fulfill. The law. Immediately. And when. Even was come.

[11:22] In verse. 47. Of our text. The ship. Was in the midst. Of the sea. And he alone. In the land. That's in Mark. 46. Verse 47.

[11:34] So it says. Jesus saw them. He sends them away. And he saw them. Toiling. Rowing. While. He was in a desert place.

[11:44] Do you ever stop. And think about that. Where he was. And where they were. Now the Sea of Galilee. Is like seven miles wide. And 13 miles long. And Jesus is up. In a desert place.

[11:56] And it says. He saw them. That's. Goes along. With the song. That we heard today. From Nancy. Never too far. From where you are.

[12:07] Jesus sees you. Wherever you are. And in the morning. Rising up. A great while. Before day. This is another example. He went out. And departed. Into a solitary place.

[12:17] And prayed. That was in Mark. 135. Somebody look up. For me. Matthew 6. Who wants that verse. Go ahead brother. If you can find that.

[12:29] And somebody look up. Luke 6. 12. Some other examples. Of praying here. Somebody got Luke 6. 12. Ryan. Go ahead brother.

[12:42] So he sees you. No matter where you are. Even in your secret place. Ryan. Please. Okay. So.

[12:57] We see here. As an example. It was previously mentioned. All night. And God. So. Point number one. If I didn't mention. Lord's foresight. And then he sent the multitudes away.

[13:09] As important as ministry to others is. And it's very important for us to minister to our brothers and sisters. And to help the needy. And to pray for others. It's also important to be alone with God.

[13:22] Ourselves. And so that's something that we need to recognize. Prayer needs to be a. A daily occurrence. And we went to the men's retreat. And we talked about prayer.

[13:34] At the men's retreat here. A couple weeks ago. And. So many times people. Pray. And they're not specific. It's general. And it's very short. And it's not easy.

[13:46] There's a lot of distractions. That come into your mind. When you try to pray. Especially if you try to pray. For any length of time. But there comes a point. If you are faithful in it.

[13:59] And I don't mean. Repeatedly. I mean. At that one instance. There comes a point. Where you. Break through. And then it starts to flow. I've encountered that.

[14:11] Many times. When you get to praying. And it's like. So many distractions. You can't even focus. And you forget. What you were praying for. And. Or you're reading scripture.

[14:23] And sometimes you. Think. What did I just read? It just becomes rote. Mute. In. Your perceptions. And so. I'll go back.

[14:34] And read it again. So. As important as it is. To minister to others. We need to minister. To ourselves. As well. And we do that. Through prayer. Okay. B.

[14:44] He sent the disciples. Into the storm. He sent the disciples. Into the storm. Storms come. For many reasons. It may be.

[14:55] For chastisement. You may be. It may be. For persecution. It may be. You're going to get. Persecuted. Jesus is clear. About that. The world hated him. They're going to hate you.

[15:06] It may be. For edification. Even for God's glory. It may be. For. No particular. Reason at all. We don't know.

[15:17] If the storm. Was already building here. In this account. I happen to think. That it wasn't. I happen to think. In the previous text. Where. Or in the parallel.

[15:28] Text. Where it says. He knew what he would do. To prove them. And at this point. You know. He's like. Get in the boat. Go to the other side. I'll take care of things here. For now.

[15:38] You just. Get to the other side. I think. He was like. You got a lot more to learn. And I think. The Lord. Cooked up this storm. To prove them again. If it had already been.

[15:52] Brewing. I doubt. That Peter. And the disciples. Being experienced fishermen. Would have launched out. Into the sea. At least there would have been. Some sort of objection. It's like. Hey Lord. You know. Listen.

[16:02] There's a storm brewing. Listen. It's not. Wrong to question. But don't. Doubt. The Lord's. Motives.

[16:13] Or commands. Does anybody know. Of any other examples. In scripture. Where people were persecuted. For. Or. Went through some storms.

[16:25] Not due to their own sin. Or just for following the Lord. Can anybody think of some examples. Of that. Who? Job.

[16:36] Job's a big one. Yeah. Joseph. Joseph is a good one. All that he went through. Do you ever think about. Joseph. Potiphar's wife.

[16:47] Accuses him. He goes to prison. You know. Has the visions. The baker. And the Lord's. Food taster. Or whatever. Butler. Yeah. And.

[17:00] What do you think. Potiphar said. To his wife. These are the things. That I think of. When. Joseph. Got promoted. To number two. In the land. Hey babe.

[17:12] Remember that kid. That you accused. Of. I sure hope. You were telling. The truth. Because I go to work. On Monday.

[17:22] And he's my new boss. And. These are the things. You wonder. You know. These are things. We'll find out. When we get to heaven.

[17:32] But. Yeah. You know. Joseph. Somebody said. A couple others. Who were they? Daniel was another one. Yeah. Persecuted. For his. Faith in God.

[17:43] What's that? Yeah. I got Shadrach. Meshach. And Abednego. Here. As well. Listed in my list. David was one.

[17:55] Stephen. The martyr Stephen. Was killed. Just for. Words. Telling a story. We know people. Modern day. That are killed. Just because of.

[18:05] Words. And what they believe. What's that? Yeah. In fact. Second. Timothy 3. 12. Says. Yea. All that will live.

[18:15] Godly in Christ. Shall suffer. Persecution. So we see this. You focus on Jesus. Their. Persecution. Is going to come. But the Lord.

[18:26] Is never too far away. Focus on Jesus. First Peter. 4. 12. Beloved. Think it not strange. Concerning the fiery trial. Which is to try.

[18:38] Try you. As some. Strange thing. Happened to you. It's not. It's not. It's not going to be unusual. It's going to happen to Christians. But rejoice. Inasmuch. As ye are partakers.

[18:48] Of Christ's sufferings. That when his glory. Shall be revealed. Ye may be. Glad. Also. With exceeding joy. Exceeding joy.

[19:00] If ye be reproached. For the name of Christ. Happy are ye. For the spirit of glory. And of God. Resteth upon you. And on their part. He is evil spoken of.

[19:11] But on your part. He is glorified. But let none of you suffer. As a murderer. As a thief. Or as an evildoer. As a busy body. In other men's matters.

[19:21] Yet if any man suffer. As a Christian. Verse 16. Let him not be ashamed. But let him glorify God. On his behalf.

[19:33] We know examples. Of people glorifying God. While they were being persecuted. You got Paul. Was it was in the jail. And Paul and Silas.

[19:43] Was it I think. Yeah. And then of course. Job suffered greatly. But the Lord knows. The Lord knows. All about it.

[19:56] Paul. Probably the best example. In scripture. Of multiple trials. And tribulations. And storms. That he weathered. It says five times he received 40 stripes.

[20:08] Save one. Thrice he was beaten with rods. Once he was stoned. Three times suffered shipwrecks. In a storm.

[20:20] Now. I've encountered storms. Both. Spiritually. And physically. I've been as a pilot. And we have a procedure. When you're in an airplane.

[20:32] And the first procedure. Is to avoid. All thunderstorms. Okay. That's. Procedure number one. But. On rare occasions.

[20:43] I've encountered. Thunderstorms. And the procedure. Is to immediately. Slow down. Slow down below. Turbulent air penetration. Speed. Speed. Second procedure.

[20:54] Is. Disengage the autopilot. You're going to. At this point. You're in the storm. You're going to go where it takes you. And you're going to avoid. Any rapid control movements.

[21:06] In the airplane. I've been in a situation. Where they've told me. To maintain altitude. I'm like unable. Due to turbulence. And they're like. Okay. Continue climbing. Well I could do that.

[21:17] But it was. It was like this. And. So you. First of all. Slow down. The. The one thing you want to do. When you're in a storm.

[21:28] Is not make any. Snap decisions. Okay. You want to. Slow down. And focus. On what's important. In a spiritual storm.

[21:40] That's Jesus. And the Lord. Next thing you do. You maybe. Call for help. Okay. Make.

[21:51] Make your plea. Under the Lord. In prayer. But you also got. A shepherd of this flock. That I would. Tell you. Probably has prayed.

[22:02] For everyone in here. By name. On a regular basis. Pastor Smith. Is here. And you. Are very important.

[22:13] To him. As one of. His flock. And he wants. To do whatever he can. To help you. And guide you. In the way. That the Lord. Would have you to go.

[22:24] And so. Slow down. No snap decisions. Focus on the Lord. You know. There's an example. In scripture.

[22:35] When Paul. Was in the storm. And first of all. He said. Don't go that way. You remember that. In Acts chapter. I think it's chapter 27. And he warned them.

[22:47] Not. You know. It's not good. To set out now. Well they did. And there's a. Another message I have. It's called. See I told you so. And it's. And it's when Paul says. Gentlemen.

[22:57] You should have. Hearkened unto me. When I said. This was not a good idea. But. Nevertheless. An angel appeared unto me. And nobody's going to be harmed. But there's one part.

[23:07] In that story. Where they're in the storm. And they've been fighting. And toiling. And finally. They cut everything loose. And let it ride. When you get into the storm. Like I said.

[23:18] You're. You're along for the ride. Don't make any. Rapid control movements. Once you just go. Until you come out. The other side. And so. As I used to tell my guys.

[23:30] When I was a director. Of flight ops. Stay in the middle of the air. Which is between. Space and the ground. You don't want to hit. Either one of those. Or you're in big trouble. And. And.

[23:40] Taking off. Is optional. But landing. That's mandatory. Because if you get into the air. You're going to have to land.

[23:50] One way or another. But you can wait. Don't make any. If. Get home itis. Was this thing. We have in aviation. Guys think they got to get home. They got to get home. And they take off.

[24:01] Into situations. That aren't good. And they end up. Getting in trouble. So. And we see. That the Lord. Sends storms. To. Pull people back.

[24:12] Sometimes. It talks. Paul talks about. He was given a thorn. In the flesh. Second Corinthians. Twelve. Seven. Ten. Can I get a volunteer. To read those three verses.

[24:24] Or four verses. Second Corinthians. Twelve. Seven. Ten. Go ahead. That's it. Let me make sure. You got that there. I'm pretty sure you did. So we see.

[24:34] That Paul. Was given a thorn. In the flesh. Three times. He asked the Lord. To take it away. He didn't. There's other places. In scriptures. Sometimes. We can be. As.

[24:45] Kind of like children. Oh Lord. Please take this away. Please take this away. Or. When. Moses was like. Please. Please. Let me see the promised land. Or let me go into the promised land. And finally.

[24:56] The Lord says. Don't. Don't ask me again. Don't ask me again. You're not going in. But I'll let you go. To the mountain top. And you can see into it. We see here. Paul's asking.

[25:06] Please remove this from me. No. This is for my glory. Because. This thorn in your. Your flesh. It talks about. You know. Him being exalted.

[25:17] Above measure. People would start to worship. Individuals. Rather than the Lord. Number two. Peter's focus. Peter's focus.

[25:28] In verse 28. We're all focused on something. Whether it's long term. Or short term. Whether it's. A long term result. Of our immediate actions.

[25:40] And that's where you can have. Difficulties. If you make a snap decision. During a storm. Spiritual storm. You could have long term results. Maybe not.

[25:51] The kind of results. That you want. So that's where you need to. Kind of. Slow down. Think about what's going on. Matthew 6. 21.

[26:02] For where your treasure is. There will your heart be also. So you need to think about. Is your treasure. In heaven. With the Lord. You need to.

[26:14] You need to focus. On that. You need to look at that first. And make sure your treasure. Is in the right place. Psalm 32. 8. Says.

[26:24] I will instruct thee. And teach thee. In the way. Which thou shalt go. I will guide thee. With mine eye. The Lord is here. For us. And he knows. The things that he has planned for us.

[26:36] We. We don't know. Everything. He may or may not reveal. What his plans are for us. I guarantee you though. If you ask him. You'll get an answer. One way or the other. It may be something like.

[26:47] Paul got. No. No. No. Or is it. Habakkuk. Or somebody said. Lord. Tell me what you're going to do.

[26:58] And he said. No. I'm not going to tell you. Because if I told you. You wouldn't believe me. That's paraphrasing. That's me. Okay. That's not scripture. But. We see.

[27:11] An example in Christ. He gives us an example. Of focus. And what was Christ's focus. From the time that. He's 13 years old. The account when he was a teenager.

[27:24] What did he tell his parents. Anybody remember. About my father's business. What did he say. In the garden of Gethsemane.

[27:35] Before he. When he was preparing to. Be taken and crucified. Not my will. But thy will be done. Christ's focus. Was always. On his father's will.

[27:49] And we need to be focused. On the same thing. Hebrews. Chapter 12. Verses 1 through. 3. Wherefore seeing.

[27:59] We are all so compassed about. With so great a cloud of witness. Let us lay aside. Every weight. And the sin. Which doth so easily. Beset us. And let us run with patience.

[28:11] The race that is before us. Looking unto Jesus. The author and finisher of our faith. Who for the joy. That was set before him. Endured the cross. Despising the shame.

[28:23] And sat down at the right hand. Of the throne of God. For consider him. That endured. Such contradiction of sinners. Against himself. Lest he be wearied. And lest ye be wearied.

[28:35] And faint in your minds. The battlefield is in your mind. The battlefield is in your mind. And all spiritual warfare.

[28:48] It's in your mind. And that's where. There are. I was just down. Visiting my son Nicholas. And went to their church. And the pastor started a lesson.

[29:00] Series. On mental health. Mental health. And he said. This. This one series. May take until the Lord returns. Because he said. There's. Probably 500 or more.

[29:13] Verses. In scripture. Dealing with. Your mind. You read the Psalms. And you. You read David. I believe. He suffered from depression. At times.

[29:24] He was. He was. Distraught. Mentally. And it talks about. Casting down. Imagination. We. We. You ever sit here. In church. And something.

[29:36] Pops into your head. And you're like. Where did that come from? The. The. The devil. Call them. Intruding thoughts. That's the battle.

[29:47] Field. The prince of the power. Of the air. You know. Whatever. I don't know how it happens. He can't read your mind. But he can put thoughts.

[29:58] In there. And. You need to. Be aware of that. And you need to. Focus on the Lord. So that you can. Push those things out.

[30:09] Reject those things. Peter's focus. Changed many times. That day. First. They get into the wilderness. They're seeing the people. Healed. And then it's late. First focus was.

[30:20] Get the people home. Peter and the disciples. Get. Get them out of here. Lord. It's late. Lord can't. Lord's like. No. Let's feed them. Then they. Focus.

[30:30] Changes to money. As was mentioned earlier. Today. In the. In the. In the sermon. There's not enough money. Oh. Let's focus. This lad here.

[30:41] He's got food. And. Thinking about that lad. That lad. Had focus. He packed a lunch that day. Okay. I don't know. As Ethan was saying.

[30:51] He probably talking to his mom. Hey. There's this guy. He's named Jesus. And. His cousin was just killed. And it was the guy that was calling out. Herod. And he's going in the wilderness.

[31:02] And I want to see him. And his mom's like. Well who's. You know that. Blonde haired guy with a mullet. And blue eyes. Like in the pictures. No. That's not him. This is the real Jesus.

[31:14] And he's. He heals people. And he. And he raises people from the dead. And. And it's just. I want to go mom. I want to go.

[31:24] Okay. Packs a lunch. For her. Son. And. He's focused. And. You know. And then it's feed to people. And the. Kid's probably in the front row. And they're like.

[31:34] You know. There's just not out of food. And he's like. But this kid right here. He's got. He's got food. And he's. You know. Well now. You know. I like Ethan's. Perspective on this.

[31:46] The kid gave it. Willingly. And I've often thought about that as well. And. They take up 12 baskets afterwards. The kid went home.

[32:01] Probably with more than he left with. Maybe enough to feed him and his mom and his dad. Or his brothers and sisters. I don't know. But.

[32:12] It was a blessing. I don't know why. That account isn't mentioned. Anywhere. But John. John. The. The. The account in John. Is the one that mentions the lad.

[32:23] And the. The type of bread. The barley bread. But I believe they're significant. And that's why it's important to take. Doesn't mean one is wrong. And the other is right. It's like somebody could.

[32:34] Write a. Epistle about the service today. Say. Ethan spoke. And then the other. Someone else could write an epistle. Say. Lou spoke. And then you get the naysayers.

[32:46] Oh. The epistles. Or the apostles. They contradict one another. No. They don't. Just because one spoke. It doesn't say. Somebody else did. Different perspectives.

[32:57] And. So then. Now. They get in the boat. And they go to the other side. Peter. The focus. Of this part of the story. And I don't know why.

[33:08] This. Walking on water. This is a big deal. But it's only mentioned. In this account. The other three. Gospels. Don't mention. Peter. Walking on water.

[33:19] The only other. Living human. To walk on water. That's a pretty big deal. All three of these accounts. In one form or another. But that's a big thing.

[33:30] To leave out. The type of bread. Not so big. But a guy walking on water. To Jesus. Now there's a. Evangelist. We used to have come through here. Named Tom Schulte.

[33:41] And his perspective. Is a little bit different. His perspective. Is. He was told. To get into the boat. And go to the other side. And.

[33:53] He got out of the boat. So Peter's focus. In the midst of the storm. They're going. He's probably focused on the storm. And the waves.

[34:03] And he's rowing. Fighting against the elements. And as I said earlier. Jesus says. He saw them toiling. And rowing. Has anybody ever seen the movie.

[34:14] Ben Hur. Anyone watch the movie. Ben Hur. Row well. And live. You know. As they're. They're rowing. In those Roman galleons. With Charlton Heston. And.

[34:25] I can just see those guys. They're fighting it. And they're rowing. And. Then they hear. The Lord.

[34:37] So. He focused on the Lord. In verse 30. Well they hear the Lord. Or they see the Lord. And a lot of them think it's the spirit. And then they hear the Lord say.

[34:48] Be of good cheer. Be not afraid. It is I. Now for the other. Disciples. That was enough. But that wasn't enough for Peter. Peter's like.

[34:59] If it really is you. Bid me come on the water. And he stepped out. And he walks on the water. And it says. Once he saw the tumult.

[35:11] He started to sink. Okay. He focused. On the storm. He didn't start to sink.

[35:21] And then focus on the storm. He saw the storm. And then started to sink. He took his eyes off of his Savior. Christ. Jesus. In John 14. 27. Says.

[35:31] Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth. Give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid. Jeremiah.

[35:43] 33. 33. 3. Says. Call unto me. And I will answer thee. And show thee great and mighty things. Which thou knowest not. So Peter. Started to sink.

[35:56] He calls out to the Lord. And this is what we talked about. At the men's meeting. We see a parachute prayer here. Probably the shortest prayer. Recorded in the Bible.

[36:07] Lord save me. Now that's different. That's not saving your soul. That's saving your bacon. Which is totally different. Than saving your soul. I can remember witnessing to my dad. Trying to get him.

[36:18] Many years ago. And he said. Son. I can count thousands of times. I was in a rice paddy in Vietnam. Praying for God to save me. I said. That's different. That's different. That's not.

[36:29] Lord forgive me of my sands. That's Lord. You know. Don't let me get killed. So. His focus changed. He sinks. And. The Lord saves him.

[36:41] And we need to remember. The first command. Was to get into the boat. Go to the other side. He gets sort of a mild rebuke. Here. From the Lord too. When he gets in the boat.

[36:54] And it says. Or. B. Is he focused on the winds and the waves. And he gets a mild rebuke. Here. I believe. And. You know.

[37:05] Wherefore did ye doubt. When he was saved. There are storms that the Lord doesn't send. And we remember in Elijah. When he was told to go forth. And stand on the mountain. The winds came.

[37:16] And the storms came. And the rocks split. But it says. The Lord was not in them. But then there was a still small voice. So you need to stay focused on the Lord.

[37:29] And while the storms are raging. You'll hear that still small voice. If your focus is in the right place. The earthquake and a fire. Didn't have an effect on Elijah.

[37:41] At that point. Now he had run. You know. Run and hid. And the Lord's like. You know. Get up. You got to. You walked all this way. If you had prayed to me about this.

[37:51] Before you came here. You probably wouldn't have to walk. All the way back now. Now you got to have to walk. All the way back. He was fleeing. Persecution. So next.

[38:02] We see the disciples faith. We're getting short on time here. The disciples faith. Number three. Peter was rescued. All things whatsoever ye ask.

[38:13] Ask in prayer. Believing ye shall receive. Faith. We need to have faith. In the Lord's provision. Something else we learned. At the men's workshop.

[38:25] Be specific when you pray. Be focused in your prayer time. You may. You know. You don't get everything you ask for. If you ask amiss. But you have not.

[38:35] Because you ask not. We need to remember those things. Isn't it sad? We often wait. Till things get serious. Before we go to the Lord. In prayer. John 10. 28 and 29.

[38:46] Says. And I give unto them eternal life. And they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them me. Is greater than all.

[38:57] And no man is able to pluck them. Out of my hand. You are secure in the Lord. Even when you're going through a storm. You're secure. Even the storms of life. No matter how bad.

[39:08] They can separate us from the love of God. It says it very clearly in scriptures. Romans 8. 38 and 39. I won't read it now. For due to time. But you guys get it. It's interesting to me.

[39:19] That Peter. Seems to be. The one disciple. That. Has to be taught. Over and over and over. He just doesn't get it. But he becomes one of the great.

[39:29] Greatest people in scripture. That the Lord used. B. The disciples were relieved. Believe the storm was actually. As I said.

[39:40] Created by God. There's other examples of storms. I don't think that this storm. Was.

[39:52] I believe the devil. Can send storms our way. We see that with Job. The Lord withdrew. And said. Do what you want. But don't kill him. And we see. He sent winds. Killed Job's sons.

[40:03] In other instances. When Jesus calms the storms. He rebukes the wind. He uses the word rebukes.

[40:14] And calms him. Calms the storm. See. The disciples were reverent. Jesus. Gets in the boat. And they worship him.

[40:27] Worshiping God during trials. Is demonstrated throughout the Bible. Paul and Silas in prison. As I said earlier. Somebody mentioned Joseph in prison. Woman guilty of many sins.

[40:39] Washes Jesus' feet. Widow who gave her last two mites. Worship God in sacrificial giving. Abraham was willing to give his sons. And worship through obedience.

[40:53] In conclusion. We see the account here of Peter. And the disciples. In the Bible. And if you stop and think about it. If Peter had stayed in the boat.

[41:03] And this is a different angle. As soon as Jesus got in the boat. The storm ceased. And it was calm. And the disciples were probably like.

[41:15] Oh yeah. You had to get out. You had to walk on the water. Oh. Feeling really cool now. Huh? You almost drowned. Didn't you? Huh? Huh? Huh? You almost drowned. If you just stayed in the boat. Everything would have been cool.

[41:25] He gets in the boat. Everything stops. But no. Peter's got to get out of the boat. And try and you know. Walk on the water. The storm ceased. As soon as the Lord. Got back into the boat.

[41:37] And it was a calm. We must always follow. The example of Christ. And maintaining. Our focus on him. And the way he maintained his focus.

[41:50] On the father. And the father's will. There is a storm coming. Sooner or later. Some of us have suffered greatly. In this church. Suffered great loss. Some of you have.

[42:03] The Lord is there for you. The Lord is there for you. Just as the disciples were toiling. And rowing. Doing God's will. To get to the other side. It says that Jesus saw them.

[42:15] Toiling. While he was in a desert place. I believe he was miles away. And he saw them. So don't make any snap decisions. In the midst of a fiery trial.

[42:27] Stay focused on Jesus. Talk to pastor. If you're going through a trial. Talk to pastor. Call him. Or if you're a woman.

[42:38] Call April. They're here for you. They love you. And we all love them. And so I would ask you. To be praying for them too. Because they're going through a trial.

[42:49] Right now. And so. As we finish up today. Just remember. Keep your focus on the Lord. He will never leave you.

[43:00] Or forsake you. He sees you. Where you are. And he can get to you. Nothing's going to keep him from you. And you are safe in him. If you are a child of his. So let's close in prayer.

[43:12]  And we'll be dismissed. Please may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may