[0:00] We're going to begin our service singing in Psalm 93 from Sing Psalms, Psalm number 93, Sing Psalms. It's on page 123.
[0:21] The Lord is King, is throne in jewels, majestic in his height. The Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength and might. The world is founded, firm and sure, removed it cannot be.
[0:34] Your throne is strong and you are God from all eternity. The seas, O Lord, have lifted up, they lifted up their voice. The seas have lifted up their waves and made a mighty noise.
[0:46] The Lord enthroned on high is strong. More powerful is he than thunder of the ocean waves or breakers of the sea. Your royal statutes, Lord, stand firm and changing is your word.
[1:02] And holiness adorns your house for endless days, O Lord. Psalm 93, the whole Psalm, the Lord is King. The Lord is King, is throne in jewels, majestic in his height.
[1:30] The Lord is King, is throne in majesty and arm with strength and might.
[1:47] The earth is King, is throne in majesty and arm with strength and might. The earth is King, is throne in majesty and arm with strength and might. The earth is King, is throne in majesty and arm with strength and might.
[2:01] The earth is King, is throne in majesty and arm with strength and might. The earth is tener to marche and gravity and arm with он in majesty and arm with strength and hands. The earth is King, is throne in majesty and arm with strength and arm with strength and de Sedans in majesty and arm with strength and amaze. The earth is Gravel has lifted up hisanza in majesty and arm with strength and arm with strength. The earth is Jeans in majesty and arm with strength and arm with strength and arm WITH strength and arm with strength and arm with strength and arm with strength and arm's vigor.
[2:33] Take out their voice. The seas have lifted up their wings and made a mighty noise.
[2:55] The heart and throat are high, is strong, more powerful is thee than thunder on.
[3:17] The oceans wait, are ravers of the sea.
[3:29] Pure for the statutes, heart and firm, and changing into word, and holiness adores your hands, for endless chains, O Lord.
[4:00] Let us bow in prayer. O Lord, we give thanks tonight that you are the God who are enthroned on high, majestic, glorious, sovereign in your power.
[4:17] We pray for the faith that will see this, because without faith it is impossible to know it, to believe it, to accept it. But we give thanks, Lord, that where there is faith, that faith grows, that faith is enabled to strengthen, and to delve into deeper things, and come to a greater persuasion and knowledge of your truth.
[4:39] And we pray, O Lord, that we may praise you with all our heart, and that we may seek to exalt your name in praise, exalt your name in our mind and in our hearts, in our lives.
[4:53] We pray that even as we gather here together, that we may realize that we are in the presence of the King, the one who is all-glorious, enthroned in glory and majesty, who is worshipped eternally by the hosts of heaven, and by the church here on earth.
[5:11] We long for the day when we will all be together, encircled around that throne, being led by the shepherd who is shepherding us even now, but will shepherd us throughout an endless eternity.
[5:26] And we pray, O Lord, that you will grant us grace as we wait upon you, so that we will hear what God the Lord will speak, that you will open our ears to hear, our hearts to understand, our minds to lay hold upon the truth.
[5:41] Keep away distracting thoughts, because we know that we are more prone to wander in God's house than probably anywhere else. Because so often when we come here, we don't come alone, because the enemy of our soul will seek to distract us, and take us away from the truth.
[5:58] Take us away from this word, which makes us wise unto salvation, because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
[6:09] And so, Lord, we pray for receptive hearts, hearts that are willing to be changed and transformed by the power of your own spirit. And we pray that we may seek to become more Christ-like, and forgive us, Lord, for when we don't.
[6:26] Forgive us, Lord, when our actions betray the very confession that we make, and where our speech betrays that confession as well.
[6:38] O Lord, help us then to resemble Jesus more and more, as your spirit works in us, conforming us more to the image of Christ. We pray then that you will help us all as we wait upon you tonight.
[6:52] And we ask that you will bless us. It's a wonderful privilege to be blessed by God, an enriching experience. And we pray that we will be able to say, because we have been with God, that it's been good for us to be here.
[7:10] We pray for all who gather as we do tonight, up and down our land, and indeed throughout the nations of this world. And we realize with the different time zones, that there is almost an encircling praise of God taking place throughout the whole world.
[7:27] And we give thanks for that, for your people are many, although we are often led to believe they are few. We're given that picture in the book of Revelation, of that great multitude that no one can number.
[7:40] And so we give thanks, Lord, that you are taking in and gathering your church throughout all nations. We pray then that you will help us and bless us. We pray your blessing on the youth fellowship tonight.
[7:53] We give thanks for our young people. We pray, Lord, that you'll watch over them in the age that they grow up in, an age where there are so many issues and difficulties ahead of them, and where there are pressures that we as older people don't realize or understand.
[8:12] And ask, Lord, that you will be with them. Grant them grace and guidance, and that the teaching that they have when they're young may be embedded in their heart. For your word tells us, train up a child in the way that he'll go.
[8:26] And when he's old, he will not depart from it. And so we pray, Lord, to give thanks for the teachings that we've had. And we pray that we might be ready to pass on what we have learned and what we have known to those who are younger.
[8:42] And so we pray your blessing upon our young people here in the congregation. And we give thanks, Lord, for all the work that is done amongst them.
[8:53] Remember, as we say, the fellowship tonight. Remember the Sunday school and the creche and the twinnies. Remember the youth club and remember all the explorers and all the different work that goes on with our young.
[9:05] Lord, our God, we remember those who have gone away to university and colleges and places of learning and to different maybe apprenticeships, different things away from home, some for the first time adjusting to a new way of life.
[9:19] Lord, we commit them to your care and keeping. We give thanks for families. Lord, we know that for some people, families, while bringing the greatest joy, for some they are nourishing great sorrow.
[9:34] We pray for all those who know what it is like to have lost a member of their family. And we realize that it is one of the most painful things in this world, because we always expect that the younger will be the ones who will lay to rest the older.
[9:54] But sometimes, sadly, it's the reverse. And so we pray for all such tonight who grieve in a special way. And we pray, Lord, that you will draw close to them and undertake for them and do them good.
[10:08] We pray, Lord, to bless the congregation just now at a time of vacancy. Pray, Lord, in light of the vacancy committee and the meeting on Tuesday, that your wisdom and direction will be given and that throughout time it will become evident and clear in the way in which we're to go.
[10:27] We pray your blessing upon Colin, who's intermoderated, and ask your blessing to be upon him and his leadership. We give thanks for him. We pray for Colin Murdo and we pray your blessing upon him with the extra responsibilities that he has.
[10:41] And we give thanks for bringing him here, Lord. We pray for Joanne and the family. We pray for Joanie and Marissa and Danny. We pray, Lord, that you'll bless them as a time of a needed break comes up and that you will bring back safe and sound afterwards, refreshed.
[11:00] Lord our God, we pray to bless us nationally and internationally, particularly in light of the way that nationally we tend to be turning away from you more and more.
[11:11] And where our leaders are set upon so often forgetting what you have to say and thinking only of what they have to say.
[11:22] Oh, Lord, we pray to influence advisors to our politicians as well as the politicians themselves. We pray, Lord, that heavenly wisdom will be given even when they don't ask for it.
[11:34] But we pray, Lord, that we may see our duties. We're told to pray for those in authority over us. It is incumbent upon us. And so we pray that we may be constantly doing so.
[11:47] And help us, Lord, have a boldness in prayer and a faith in our prayer, a faith in prayer, that faith centered in you. We pray then that you will bless us. We pray as we saw there where Tesco are considering opening on the Lord's Day.
[12:04] And we realize that that would have a huge impact upon our community. And we are aware first and foremost upon your day and what it brings to us, the day of rest that you have given to us for our bodies, our minds, but particularly our souls.
[12:23] It would have far-reaching consequences. And we pray, Lord, that they may reconsider this decision that they're making or about to make. We pray, oh, Lord, that you will guide your people throughout this land and all the different places of occupation that you've placed them in, that there will be an influence for good there.
[12:46] We pray for your church worldwide. We pray for the persecuted church, particularly in lands of oppression, lands of darkness, lands where there is no gospel freedom.
[12:58] Oh, Lord, deliver the persecuted even tonight. Turn the persecutors into your followers in the same way as you turned Saul of Tarshish to become a great missionary.
[13:10] You are the unchanging God. We pray that you will guide us as we wait upon you. And we pray that you will forgive us all our sin. We confess our sin before you again, acknowledging that in so many different ways we let you down and we let ourselves down.
[13:28] And so we ask that you will forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Be with those who are going through difficult times in this particular time of their life, where their own world has been turned upside down.
[13:44] Whether these troubles are physical or mental or whether they're social or family or financial or in whatever area, Lord, where there is a storm in their life.
[13:57] We ask, Lord, that you will intervene and that you will calm the storm and that you will help them and that you will bless them. Watch over us, then, Lord, as we wait upon you.
[14:08] Cleanse us from our every sin. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. I'm going to sing again from Psalm 46 in the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 46 in the Scottish Psalter, 1 to 7.
[14:20] It's on page 271. God is our refuge and our strength and streets of present aid. Therefore, although the earth remove, we will not be afraid.
[14:33] Though hills amidst the seas be cast, though waters roaring make. And troubled be, yea, though the hills by swelling cease to shake. A river is whose streams do glad the city of our God, the holy place wherein the Lord Most High hath his abode.
[14:50] God in the midst of her doth dwell. Nothing shall her remove. The Lord to her unhelper will, and that right early prove. To the end of verse 7, Psalm 46, 1 to 7.
[15:02] God is our refuge and our strength. It mandates a blessed shining peace, people ofabad. Of the light earth follow yippee who doesn't belong peace. That made us, people of God, indeed woogue, the blood behind us and cannot жив that provinusið, God has them as we many ast misleading as paths are not estarful as any of our solidMIN. The heavy chamber shed His grace of present day Let one of all the earth remove We will not be afraid Though hills are mixed The seas becast Though waters owing gray And travel deep
[16:04] In all the hills High spreading seas to shame I've been the hills to streams to climb The saving of the God The holy place With the Lord Who's time hath it's a home How in the midst of heart of death Nothing shall I remove
[17:07] The Lord to her And ever will And love my journey through The heath Even which should not just be The kingdom's do it where The Lord God of heaven There in his voice The heath He hath it For fear The Lord Our host Upon our side
[18:08] That constantly remain The God of Jacob's Our refuge Has safely to maintain Let us turn now to read God's word In the gospel of Mark chapter 4 Mark chapter 4 And we pick up a reading at verse 21 Mark 4 Verse 21 And he That's Jesus Said to them Is a lamp brought in To be put under a basket Or under a bed And not on a stand For nothing is hidden Except to be made manifest
[19:09] Nor is anything secret Except to come to light If anyone has ears to hear Let him hear And he said to them Pay attention To what you hear With the measure You use it It will be measured to you And still more Will be added to you For to the one who has More will be given And from the one who has not Even what he has Will be taken away And he said The kingdom of God Is as a man Should scatter seed In the ground He sleeps And rises night and day And the seed sprouts And grows He knows not how The earth produces By itself First the blade Then the ear Then the full grain In the ear But when the grain Is ripe At once he puts in The sickle Because the harvest Has come And he said With what can we compare
[20:09] The kingdom of God Or what parable Shall we use for it It is like a grain Of mustard seed Which when Sown on the ground Is the smallest Of all the seeds On earth Yet when it is sown It grows up And becomes larger Than all the garden plants And puts out Large branches So that the birds Of the air Can make nests In its shade With many such parables He spoke the word To them As they were able To hear it He did not speak To them Without a parable But privately To his own disciples He explained everything On that day When evening had come He said to them Let us go across To the other side And leaving the crowd They took him with them In the boat Just as he was And other boats Were with him And a great windstorm Arose And the waves
[21:10] Were breaking Into the boat So that the boat Was already filling But he was in the stern Asleep in the cushion And they woke him And said to him Teacher Do you not care That we are perishing And he awoke And rebuked the wind And said to the sea Peace Be still And the wind ceased And there was a great calm And he said to them Why are you so afraid?
[21:38] Have you still No faith? And they were filled With great fear And said to one another Who then is this That even the wind And sea Obeying?
[21:50] Amen And may God bless to us This reading of his holy word I'm going to sing again Sing psalm Psalm number 77 From verse 13 To the end of the psalm Psalm 77 From verse 13 And sing psalms It's on page 100 O God Most holy are your ways What God compares with you You are the God of miracles Whose power the nations view You have redeemed your people Lord With your almighty arm Jacob and Joseph's children You delivered from all harm The water saw you O my God They saw and writhed in pain The very depths became convulsed The clouds poured down the rain The thunder rolled across the skies As lightning bolts were hurled Your thunder in the wind was heard
[22:51] Your lightning lit the world The whole earth trembled then and quaked Your path was through the sea Your way through mighty waters led Your footprints none could see Your people like a flock of sheep You guided every day By Moses and by Aaron's hand You led them on the way Verses 13 to the end Psalm 77 O God most holy are your ways Of the comfishing years You are the God of miracles Whose power the nations view You have redeemed your people Lord
[23:59] And their reign The thunder rolled across the skies As lightning bolts were hurled Your thunder in the wind was heard Your lightning lit the world The thunder tremble men and wings Your path was through the sea Your way through mighty waters led Your footprints and blue sea
[25:01] Your thusly Char erste came and mos M pour城 Amen.
[25:34] Let's turn again to the chapter we read in Mark chapter 4 and from verse 35, a very well-known section of God's word.
[25:45] Verse 35, on that day when evening had come, he said to them, let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was.
[25:57] And other boats were with them and a great windstorm arose and the waves were breaking into the boat. So the boat was already filling.
[26:09] But he was in the stern asleep in the cushion. And they woke and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace be still.
[26:23] And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. And he said to them, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?
[26:40] As you can see, these were busy days for Jesus. He was constantly teaching and preaching and he did so with great authority.
[26:50] We're told elsewhere that his teaching was not like the scribes or the Pharisees, that he taught as one with authority. And so there was this constant teaching.
[27:01] And of course, also along with the teaching, there was a lot of healing. So in the evening, he leaves the crowd beside and he says, we're going to go to the other side.
[27:13] And he, along with the disciples, set off across the Sea of Galilee. It doesn't tell us what the weather was like when they left. But it tells us what happened as they were on their way across, that there came this great windstorm, a great windstorm arose.
[27:31] So it would look like it was just a normal, calm evening when they left. But then the weather changed dramatically on the way over. And I'm sure we've all been at sea one time or another when it's been wild.
[27:46] And we know what it's like with the howling of the wind, it's whistling, the waves are surging and the boat is rocking backwards and forwards and side to side.
[27:57] And nobody likes being out in a storm, but I'm sure we would all prefer being on land during a storm. At least it's firm ground underneath rather than being out on sea.
[28:12] But anyway, here is, it's a ferocious night. And it's so bad that the disciples are beginning to become fearful and frightened that the boat is going to end up sinking.
[28:25] Because it tells us that the waves were coming into the boat and the boat was beginning to fill up. And we've got to remember that the disciples, by and large, at least a good number of them, they weren't inexperienced in the waters.
[28:39] They were seasoned sailors. They were fishermen by trade. And in fact, the likes of Peter and his brother Andrew and James and John, they were fishermen who had fished these waters day in, day out until they left their nets to follow Jesus.
[28:58] So if anybody knew these waters, like the back of their hand, it was these disciples. And yet they're terrified, they're petrified. And they feel that their end is coming.
[29:09] And in desperation, we find that they go to find Jesus. And we find Jesus. It's very interesting.
[29:20] We find him in verse 38. It tells us that he was in the stern asleep on the cushion. On the cushion. And just a couple of observations along the way.
[29:32] And the first thing we notice here, where we find Jesus asleep here, is pointing to the humanity of Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God.
[29:45] God of very God. Equal in power and glory to the Father. And yet in order to become one for us and one with us, he had to take human nature.
[29:59] Come into this world and be one with us. And by taking human nature, he took our nature apart from sin. And so we find that all the infirmity of our humanness was part of Jesus' life.
[30:16] He experienced hunger and thirst and pain, physical pain, mental pain, emotional pain. Everything that we experience apart from sin.
[30:29] He experienced temptation. Everything. But as God, we know that God neither slumbers nor sleeps. So it's here we see the humanity of Jesus.
[30:41] And we know that Jesus had spent the days teaching and healing. And you and I know that if we're very, very busy, and particularly if you're giving of yourself constantly, that you become exhausted.
[30:56] You become tired. And so we find that Jesus is displaying the exhaustion of humanity by simply falling asleep.
[31:07] And he's sleeping in the storm at the stern of the boat. And we've got to remember that this Jesus that we see here is the same Jesus tonight.
[31:19] He hasn't changed. And he understands all our weaknesses because he has journeyed this world in our nature. In fact, he still, he has risen in our nature and continues in our nature forever.
[31:35] But he understands our weaknesses, our pains, our sorrows, our temptations. And that means that we must go to Jesus. Jesus, you and I know, if you go through some pain or sorrow in life, some difficulty, you want to be, it's always easier to share your experience with somebody who's gone through a similar experience to yours.
[32:02] Because you know that they'll understand exactly what you're saying. Because you can share your experience with someone who might be very sympathetic and very understanding by nature, but they cannot follow your experience because they've never been there.
[32:21] But when you meet somebody who can identify totally, it's helpful, isn't it? Well, that's the thing about Jesus. That's why it's so important to go to him.
[32:31] Because he understands in a way and in a measure that nobody else can or nobody else is able to. And so it's important that we make our way to Jesus.
[32:44] And again, the other thing we see about Jesus asleep in the boat is that he is completely trusting in his heavenly father. Because in our nature, Jesus lived in absolute dependence upon the father, filled with the spirit.
[33:01] He wasn't exercising, as it were, his divine nature in this world. Yes, he's divine, but he was also human. And he was exercising, he was living as a human, but his life was lived in absolute dependence and trust in his father.
[33:20] That's why he was sleeping like a baby. Jesus knew that he was going to die, but not in a boating tragedy. He knew his time hadn't come. He had a lot of work yet to do for the father.
[33:33] And so he's resting completely trusting in his heavenly father. And it's interesting here because it's very obvious that the disciples weren't trusting in Jesus.
[33:49] Jesus is trusting in his father, but they're not trusting in him. Because what did Jesus say at the very beginning of the thing? He said, That's the word of Jesus.
[34:06] We're going over to the other side. Now, if they had faith in Jesus, and they were trusting in Jesus in the storm, they would have said, We're going to come through this, because the Lord has given his word that we're going to the other side.
[34:23] And you and I know that it's often when we're given a promise from the Lord that we're tested in that very thing. Well, they were being tested, and they fell badly.
[34:34] No wonder Jesus said to them at the end, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? Because they were not trusting in Jesus.
[34:46] And so they come to Jesus, and they say to him, Teacher, do you not care that we're perishing? We're doomed. It's more or less, Next wave could be our last.
[34:58] You know, it's very interesting again, just by way of observation here. Here are the disciples, and they're terrified, they're afraid.
[35:10] And Jesus is asleep, but Jesus is going to care for them and provide for them, and still the storm. There was a day when almost, it's not that the roles were reversed, but when Jesus was facing his washed time on this world, you go to the garden of Gethsemane, and he took three disciples, three that were here, Peter, James, and John with him, and he told them, my soul is now troubled.
[35:39] And on the floor of Gethsemane Garden, he sweated, as it were, drops of blood. He was in such agony of soul. But before he left the three disciples to go on to his own, what did he say to them?
[35:52] You stay here. Watch and pray. Jesus sent them, left them there to pray. When he came back, how did he find them?
[36:04] They were all sound asleep. And there's almost an irony in what we see here. That these very disciples who are wakening up Jesus from his sleep are the very disciples who were sound asleep when he needed them most to be with them and praying.
[36:25] But before we come to see Christ's reaction to the storm, I think it's important to say that although Jesus has taken the disciples on board and they're crossing over to the other side, a storm, we mustn't assume because Christ is on board that there will be no storm.
[36:48] And that's true in our journey through this life. There are some people who think that the moment you become a Christian, that's it. Life is, life's easy now. Life's a bed of roses.
[36:59] That's the end of troubles, trials. And in fact, it's one of the things that Jesus tells us assuredly that us Christians that we will have troubles, we will have trials.
[37:12] In this world, he says, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. The troubles that afflict the just in number many be, but yet at length out of them all, the Lord does set him free.
[37:30] Out of them all. And so we see that Jesus here on board doesn't mean that there will be no storm. You see, we can't avoid troubles and storms in life because we live, as we know, in a world that is filled with difficult troubles and difficult traumas.
[37:53] And maybe tonight for you, maybe some of you are going through your own personal storms. Maybe, you know, sometimes we're very bad at looking at other people's lives and saying to ourselves, oh, you know, they've got a trouble-free life.
[38:08] We don't know. The very person that you think might have a trouble-free life might be a person who has many, many issues and troubles and traumas and personal sorrows that you and I don't know about.
[38:24] So we've got to be very careful in making our assessments and judgments about other people. But tonight, if you are here and you're going through your troubles and you're going through storms in your own life, remember that Jesus is the one who cares.
[38:43] because here it appears as if Jesus isn't bothering. It appears at this moment as if, well, Jesus is asleep.
[38:57] That's the criticism that the disciples have of him. You're asleep. You're sleeping. Here we are facing death. Next moment could be the last. What are you doing about it? You're sleeping.
[39:08] And there's almost a kind of a, there's a criticism in their attack on Jesus when they said, Master, do you not care? You know, that's probably one of the most harsh statements that could ever be said about Jesus.
[39:26] Do you not care? Why was Jesus in the boat? Why did Jesus come into this world? Because he cared.
[39:38] If Jesus didn't care, he wouldn't have come to this world. There would be no gospel. We wouldn't be meeting here tonight. There wouldn't be any hope for us. We'd have been left to our shelves. But it's because God the Father cared.
[39:52] It's because God the Son cared. That's why Jesus came into this world. So you can see how wrong the disciples were to say to Jesus, Do you not, do you care?
[40:05] Of course he cared. And I can say the same thing to you tonight because maybe you're saying the same. Does Jesus care? Has Jesus forgotten to be gracious?
[40:18] You know, sometimes we say that. As the Lord, that's what it tells us in the Psalm. Psalm has said that. Has God forgotten to be gracious? It's as if God has forgotten all about me.
[40:31] Of course he hasn't. Can't. And sometimes we've got to remember that the Lord has a reason for his silence. He has a reason at times for his delays.
[40:43] We can't understand them. But he has a purpose in all these things. But we also see that having the Lord on board will bring a wonderful deliverance.
[40:56] And just as he proved for the disciples, he will for you as well. Now it doesn't tell us that Jesus said anything immediately to the disciples, although maybe some of the other Gospels writers have a different slant on it.
[41:09] But he spoke words. He rebuked the wind. So he addressed the wind and the sea. He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace, be still.
[41:22] I would love to have been there at that moment. You and I know what it's like on a boat. And as you say, the wind is howling. You go out on the deck and there's a whistle and there's a roar.
[41:36] Jesus rebukes that. And there's just nothing but a silence. And you know what it's like the surge of the sea.
[41:47] The sea is angry and it's heaving and surging. And Jesus said, Peace, be still.
[41:58] And it turns into like a mill pond. The disciples, if you were to look at them, they would have been standing there open-mouthed.
[42:09] Absolutely. We use the expression gobsmacked. They would have been just stunned. So would you. So would I. Because you and I know that a storm doesn't go to zero knots in a second.
[42:24] And even when the wind stops, you and I know that the sea doesn't go flat calm immediately. You go, if there's been a north wind out there and you go on the ferry the next day, even although there's no wind, there's still a roll in the sea.
[42:40] You see, the sea takes a long time to calm down. It's impossible for the sea to immediately, the wind drops just to go flat calm. But that's exactly what happened at that moment.
[42:54] And Jesus is showing here his own lordship, his power. He is the one we're going to sing Psalm 107 at the end. He is the one who turns the storm into a calm.
[43:06] And we've got to remember that this surging sea in its first place was made by the Lord. He is the one who is Lord over all. The wind and the sea are his to command.
[43:17] We sang in Psalm 77 and it tells us there, when the water saw you, O God, they were afraid. It says, the psalmist is personalizing the very sea.
[43:29] And the sea is, although we see the sea, and long ago the people used to be suspicious of the sea, it was looked upon us where the evil would come from. But God is the one who created all.
[43:43] He's God over all things. And in that Psalm it tells us, your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters, yet your footprints were unseen.
[43:57] Isn't that beautiful? What a description that is of Jesus on another occasion on this very sea, walking to the disciples in the storm again.
[44:08] There's no sign of his footprints, but he walked across that sea as if it was a pavement. You see, he's Lord over all. And we've always got to remember that.
[44:19] And we've always got to have an insight into who the Lord is. Because, you know, this is a funny thing. See it at verse 36. It tells us, And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.
[44:36] Just as he was. At that particular moment, although the disciples believed him in Jesus as the Messiah, they had no idea who he really was.
[44:48] He was just one of them, but still they believed in him. So they took him just as he was. At this moment, when this person who was just as he was, their whole vision of who he is has changed.
[45:06] He now becomes this awesome, majestic being. And they're hushed into a new type of fear in his presence. And you know, that's what we need to see as well.
[45:20] We need to see this Jesus in all his awe, in all his power. because far too often the way we see him is just as he is, just like another one of us.
[45:31] And we don't reverence him, we don't have the awe, we don't have the fear in front of him. He's just one of us. No, he's not. Yes, he is. But thankfully he's also God.
[45:42] And at that moment their eyes were opened to behold his glory, his majesty and our power in a way that they had never ever envisaged or seen before. And so we find that Jesus is the one who brings peace and he brings calm into the troubled situation.
[46:01] And you know the Lord continues to do that. And that's what if you're here tonight and you've never come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, there's a restlessness. It may not be as bad as a storm, but there's a restlessness in your heart.
[46:17] That is the nature of life. There is a restlessness in every single heart until they find rest in the Lord. The Lord has made us for himself. And as one of the old divines said, and the heart will be restless till it finds rest in you.
[46:34] And the greatest discovery that we can ever make is that we need the Lord. And if you've never seen that, ask the Lord tonight, show me Lord, show me myself and show me yourself.
[46:46] Show me my need of you. Show me the importance because, you see, unless the Lord does that, we don't see it. And so the Lord will calm the storm in your life.
[46:57] Peace, be still. And you know, that's what the Lord continues to do because he brings peace to our conscience. When you become a Christian, that's one of the first things that happens.
[47:10] You get peace in your conscience. When you become a Christian, you come by faith and by way of repentance. forgiveness, asking for the Lord's pardon and forgiveness and cleansing.
[47:25] And you know, when you receive that, it's one of the most liberating things that can ever happen in your life, to have the experience of a trouble-free conscience.
[47:39] Our consciences can be so troubling, but you know, when our sins are pardoned, and we have a sense of divine cleansing and forgiveness, then our conscience doesn't trouble us like the way it used to.
[47:56] And the Lord also brings peace to our heart. That's what he says, my peace I give you, not as the world gives, give I unto you. You and I know that the world, that there's an element you can have, when everything is going well in life, and circumstances and everything is coming together, you can be happy and contented, and there is an element of peace, that's the world's peace.
[48:20] But it doesn't last. Change the circumstances, pull the plug on what's happening, and the peace goes with it. But Jesus says my peace is different, it's not as the world gives, my peace is deep rooted in your heart.
[48:38] Your heart is made for my love, and when my love floods your heart, then my peace comes in as well. It's a settled peace that governs, yes, there might be still a storm in your life, the storm might not go, but there's a peace attached to it, a peace that undergirds your life, that the world is incapable of giving you.
[49:09] You remember what it was like when you became a Christian. You remember that peace? A peace you never had before. You might have had good times, happy times, contented times, but you never had real deep rooted peace until you came to peace in Christ.
[49:27] That was different. My peace I give you. Now of course we know all too well in this world that we, because of the nature of this world and because of all the trials and temptations and difficulties that we face, we still often are anxious.
[49:46] You say to yourself, surely the Christian shouldn't be anxious. Well, if we weren't anxious, the Lord wouldn't be over and over and over again in the word saying, don't be anxious, don't be fearful.
[49:59] If we were to go through tonight and to count all the number of times that the Lord says, fear not, be courageous, be strong, don't be anxious.
[50:13] But the Lord tells us that basically what happens when we become anxious is that we've stopped casting all our cares upon the Lord.
[50:25] And there's a beautiful verse, I think it's in Isaiah that says something like that the one whose mind great peace, well it says great peace of those who love your love.
[50:37] But it tells us that the one whose mind is fixed on you, that that person will have continued peace, perfect peace. You will keep in perfect peace the man or woman whose mind is fixed on you.
[50:54] Fixed is a word, fixed, fixed on the Lord. Because when we take our eyes off the Lord and we begin to look at the troubles, then of course we begin to rock and roll again, we begin to shake.
[51:07] It's like Peter walking on the water, as long as he was looking to Jesus, he walked. The moment he took his eyes off Jesus and began to look at the storm, down he went. So will you, so will I.
[51:19] But not only does the Lord bring peace to our conscience and peace to our heart, he also brings peace to our mind as well. people. And you and I know that in this world there is so much stress, so many things going on in people's lives.
[51:39] And underneath, and people don't recognize this or realize it, the bottom line of it all is sin. It's sin at work. Because sin is always affecting your thought life.
[51:52] And people are saying they've got all kinds of questions. who is God? Is there a God? What's it all about? Where we're going? What's the point in life? All the time there's these kind of aimless thoughts and that brings nothing but depression and anxiety and fear.
[52:10] Hopelessness. These kind of questions, that's all it brings. And this world is forever changing. Thoughts are changing. Opinions are changing.
[52:21] Fashions are changing. You can never keep up with what's in and what's out. It's always on the move. But you know when you become a Christian, new standards take over.
[52:34] These are not the issues that concern you. It's God's word became the rule and the standard. Not the fashions and the ways and the tendencies of this world.
[52:46] And so the Christian has a freer mind. Our mind isn't governed by all these 101 things that are going on, being bombarded, particularly in the day that we're living in with all the power of social media and all these things.
[53:01] Here we have the calmness of mind when our mind is fixed on Christ. And so Jesus says to the wind, peace be still.
[53:14] And he says the same to you and to me as well. And that's the beauty of when we follow the Lord, Jesus Christ. You and I know that when we follow the Lord, we're heading to a world of eternal peace.
[53:30] Never know it in this world in its fullness. We have the first fruits of it by accepting Christ. The fullness of it belongs in the world to come.
[53:43] When the Lord made the world at the beginning, it was a world of peace and tranquility and calm. But we know the impact when sin entered in the fall. And you go to Eden when it is broken.
[53:56] Not when it's beautiful, but when it's broken. And all you see there is expulsion and separation and restlessness and death. That's a world you and I live in.
[54:10] Turn on any news bulletin, that's all we see. Brokenness, restlessness, separation, death. It's horrific off on the news and all you're seeing barbaric situations, killings, stabbings, injustice, hatred, violence.
[54:29] Jesus came into this world because he cares. Do you care? The disciples said, of course I care, says the Lord. That's why I'm here tonight offering myself to you.
[54:43] And remember that the trials that the disciples went through brought them to see a greater glimpse of the glory of the Lord. And so it will be for you.
[54:54] You think, has the Lord forgotten me in the trials? Do you know something? You look back and you'll say, you know, that trial actually was for my benefit. I got a glimpse of the glory of God I hadn't seen before.
[55:07] I was guilty of looking on Jesus as he was, rather than who he is. Now I'm seeing him for who he is. Well tonight the captain of our salvation is on the deck of the ship and he's inviting us in to come on board with him.
[55:26] He doesn't guarantee us a passage where there won't be storms, but he guarantees us a safe passage to the end. And you know what matters?
[55:37] The end. It's not how it is halfway through or even three quarters of the way through. It's how it ends. That's what matters. And when we have the Lord with us and we're on board with the Lord, it's going to end well.
[55:55] You make sure it's going to end well with you by having Jesus. Let us pray. Lord our God, we pray to bless us tonight and we give thanks for the lessons that you teach us out of your word.
[56:08] Make us receptive to them. May we have an understanding heart. May we lay hold upon your truth. May it go down deep into our heart and impact us for good.
[56:19] Pray to take every single one of us home safely. Bless our homes and our families. Lord we give thanks that we experience so much good from you. And we know that every good and perfect gift is from above.
[56:33] Help us Lord always to be returning thanks to you. Grant us your grace then we pray. Bless the fellowship that we'll meet shortly in the hall. Forgiving us our sin in Jesus name we ask it.
[56:44] Amen. We're going to conclude singing in Psalm 107 from the Scottish Psalter verses 26 to 30. Psalm 107 verses 26 to 30.
[56:57] Psalm the Scottish Psalter page 384. Psalm 107 They mount to heaven then to the depths they do go down again.
[57:11] Their soul doth faint and melt away with trouble and with pain. They reel and stagger like one drunk at their woods end they be. Then they to God in trouble cry who them from streets doth free.
[57:25] The storm was changed into a calm at his command and will so the waves which raged before now quiet are and still. Then are they glad because at rest and quiet now they be.
[57:38] So to the haven he then brings which they desired to see. 26 to 30 of Psalm 107 They mount to heaven. Amen.感謝 Tape 30 order robust round 4 9 The B God and God也可以 CHOIR SINGS
[59:01] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR HARM CHOIR SINGSots CHOIR SINGS which may he start to see.
[60:04] I'll go to the door on my right. Now may the grace, mercy and peace of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of you now and forevermore. Amen.
[60:25] Amen.