WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:17.600 And you might have guessed that there is in part this contextual reason for turning to a passage that is not particularly intellectually stretching and is probably to all of us very familiar. 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:17.600 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:49.240 That it probably would be wise for me to say up front that the message here is not Jesus stilled the storm on Galilee and Jesus can still the storm in your heart. 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:57.560 Both of those statements are true. It's only the first statement that is true to this text. 00:00:58.400 --> 00:01:10.000 Because what is evidence in this text is that Jesus stilling the storm actually created a storm in the hearts of his disciples. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:22.780 The passage ends not in tranquility but with Mark telling us in verse 41 that the disciples were filled with great fear. 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:41.620 So what Jesus did rather than cause a kind of suporific tranquility in the hearts of the disciples was to awaken them to a new sense of the majesty and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:01:41.620 --> 00:01:58.820 And of course this is if you went to Sunday school as a youngster ever had a well-meaning aunt who gave you a religious book then you have known the story of the stilling of the storm probably since childhood. 00:01:59.939 --> 00:02:04.540 And it's a story that's told in each of the first three gospels. 00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:10.860 But there are certain distinctives about the way in which it's told in Mark's gospel. 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:25.659 You're a very well-educated congregation and you know that the early Christians believed that Mark's gospel was really Simon Peter's memoirs of the Lord Jesus. 00:02:26.580 --> 00:02:38.120 We find this tradition very early on in the story of the post-apostolic Christian church that Mark who is called Stumpfingers 00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:46.200 because apparently his hands and his body were disproportionate to one another. 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:53.480 Mark who is called Stumpfingers took down the memoirs, the preaching of Simon Peter. 00:02:54.560 --> 00:03:00.379 And that's the reason why this of all the gospels is the easiest gospel to turn into the first person singular or plural. 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:17.300 Almost everything in it, instead of it being a third person description, you can turn into a first person description and you find yourself almost immediately caught up listening to an eyewitness of these accounts. 00:03:17.300 --> 00:03:27.080 And I think that's probably the reason in this passage there are little details that you don't find either in Matthew's gospel or in Luke's gospel. 00:03:27.400 --> 00:03:37.420 For example, in verse 36, that not only were the disciples in a boat, but there were other boats with them who were caught up in the storm. 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:48.319 And that we know, of course, that Jesus was asleep, but it's only Mark who tells us that there was a cushion in the boat and that Jesus was asleep in the cushion. 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:55.759 So there are these little details about this event that are unique to Mark. 00:03:55.759 --> 00:04:09.239 And there is an expression, a phrase, a statement I want us to focus our gaze on this afternoon that is also quite unique to Mark. 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:23.519 It is found in Jesus' invitation, let us go across to the other side, and then in verse 36, these words that have long fascinated me. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:26.240 I think because I find them so intriguing. 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:37.500 And, leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. 00:04:38.979 --> 00:04:40.799 Just as he was. 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:51.299 And taking him in the boat just as he was, they found themselves at the end of this experience, 00:04:51.300 --> 00:04:57.319 actually asking the question they hadn't been asking at the beginning of the experience. 00:04:57.980 --> 00:05:01.079 They took him just as he was when we know who he is. 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:04.360 You know, we've been with him these months. 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:05.319 We've watched him. 00:05:06.540 --> 00:05:11.100 There's a kind of subtle casualness about this. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:14.100 We say to people, don't we, just come as you are. 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:17.480 You know, you know, dress up, just come as you are. 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:19.500 People we know intimately. 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:22.340 We don't do anything special for them. 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:28.060 And here, you can hear Simon Peter say, 00:05:28.939 --> 00:05:32.259 we took him just the way he was. 00:05:33.400 --> 00:05:36.000 And we had almost no idea what we were actually doing. 00:05:37.060 --> 00:05:40.140 Because at the end, we were saying to one another, 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:46.280 we took him as he was, but we didn't really know who he was. 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:54.339 And in many ways, that seems to me to be a kind of beautiful description of what it means to become and be a Christian. 00:05:56.259 --> 00:06:01.919 There is no other way to take Jesus than as he is. 00:06:02.919 --> 00:06:06.199 If you don't take him as he is, you're not taking Jesus. 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:11.139 But it's in the process of taking him as he is. 00:06:11.740 --> 00:06:17.339 And sometimes assuming that you basically know most of the things you need to know about him. 00:06:17.579 --> 00:06:23.939 The whole of the rest of the Christian life is an ongoing discovery of who he really is. 00:06:23.939 --> 00:06:32.699 And I want us to just follow through that process this afternoon as simply as we can together. 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:37.860 To see what it is the Lord Jesus is doing here. 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:45.000 Because if I may say so, that is always the question we should be asking when we're reading the Gospels. 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:48.899 I was brought up to ask a different question. 00:06:49.819 --> 00:06:54.060 I was brought up to ask the question, which of these disciples am I like? 00:06:55.740 --> 00:06:59.860 Or if reading the story of Nicodemus, am I like Nicodemus up the tree? 00:07:00.180 --> 00:07:02.500 And of course there is a place for that. 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:07.879 But the real question here is, not just how are the disciples reacting, 00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:10.719 but what is Jesus doing here? 00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:17.480 And the first and the most obvious thing I think that Jesus is doing here 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:20.040 lies on the surface of the text. 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:25.000 And if I can put it half humorously, it lay on the surface of the water as well. 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:29.800 Jesus led them into difficulty. 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:34.480 Jesus led them into difficulty. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:39.920 They took him as he was, and he led them into difficulty. 00:07:40.400 --> 00:07:47.340 Now, from their point of view, it probably felt as though they were in command of the situation. 00:07:48.819 --> 00:07:51.900 But you'll notice the way in which Mark expresses this. 00:07:52.520 --> 00:07:58.439 In verse 35, when evening had come, he said to them, 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:07.839 Let us go across to the other side, and therefore they took him. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:12.699 In other words, the plan was not the disciples' plan. 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:19.159 It was not the plan of those, at least four disciples who were fishermen. 00:08:19.540 --> 00:08:21.579 This was the plan of Jesus. 00:08:21.579 --> 00:08:28.979 And it appears it was part of the plan of Jesus to lead them into difficulty 00:08:28.979 --> 00:08:34.799 in the process of bringing them to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:40.220 Let us go across to the other side. 00:08:40.220 --> 00:08:50.519 And what is so striking about this is this very simple principle that as Christians we all need to grasp. 00:08:50.899 --> 00:08:57.720 And certainly if we are not Christians, but we are drawing near to thinking about what it means to become a Christian, 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:01.240 this is something also that we need to take account of. 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:11.200 That in their obedience to the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus led them into difficulty. 00:09:12.759 --> 00:09:15.659 Now that's not the unique teaching of this passage. 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:22.320 Anyone who reflected on the 23rd Psalm would understand that this is part of the Lord's ways with his people. 00:09:23.700 --> 00:09:26.820 Yes, he leads us to very pleasant places. 00:09:27.580 --> 00:09:29.820 Quiet waters, green pastures. 00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:37.620 But he also leads us into and thankfully through dark valleys. 00:09:37.620 --> 00:09:45.180 The valley of the shadow of death is in the original Hebrew, the valley of deep darkness. 00:09:46.400 --> 00:09:54.520 So Jesus is not here doing something that his heavenly father had never done with the saints of the Old Testament. 00:09:54.519 --> 00:10:01.399 He's doing something that actually is characteristic of what he does with all of his disciples. 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:09.439 He leads them at times into difficulty in order to lead them through difficulty. 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:19.800 Which is why it's not so unusual for ministers of Christ to be asked by young Christians, 00:10:19.800 --> 00:10:27.240 Why is it that things seem to be so much more difficult for me now that I've become a Christian? 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:39.620 And it's such an obvious principle and such a vital principle that later on when Simon Peter is writing his first letter, 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:44.799 He then in turn says to those to whom he's writing, 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.560 Dear Christian brothers and sisters, 00:10:47.560 --> 00:10:52.940 Don't be surprised at the fiery trial that's coming upon you, 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:55.679 As though something odd were happening to you. 00:10:56.620 --> 00:10:59.980 As though something strange were happening to you. 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:10.220 I have a very dear friend who has an expression that he's used in speaking to me more than once, 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:11.899 And I've always appreciated it, 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.759 But there's always been a little voice at the back of my head with a question mark. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:18.460 You make a decision, 00:11:19.300 --> 00:11:22.519 You sense the Lord is leading you somewhere, 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:24.060 You follow the Lord, 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:25.139 You make the decision, 00:11:25.500 --> 00:11:27.300 And then everything seems to fall apart. 00:11:29.980 --> 00:11:34.820 You think the Lord is leading you somewhere, 00:11:34.820 --> 00:11:36.120 You make a decision, 00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:40.379 And then it seems as though the Red Sea opens up, 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:42.100 And everything goes smoothly. 00:11:43.860 --> 00:11:44.980 Well clearly, 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:46.620 In the second case, 00:11:46.740 --> 00:11:48.180 The Lord was really leading you. 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:51.420 But what about the first case? 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:55.399 In the second case, 00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:58.899 My friend would encourage me by saying something like, 00:11:58.899 --> 00:12:01.379 It's just like the Lord to do that. 00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:04.579 But what this passage is teaching us is, 00:12:04.620 --> 00:12:08.139 It's also just like the Lord to do this. 00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:16.840 We can't extrapolate from our obedience to the Lord and His word. 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:20.059 We can't extrapolate from that, 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:25.179 To the thought that obedience is going to lead us into a path of ease. 00:12:25.179 --> 00:12:26.679 It may lead us, 00:12:26.779 --> 00:12:28.620 And actually when you think about it, 00:12:28.659 --> 00:12:31.639 The story of scripture is full of this kind of thing, 00:12:32.019 --> 00:12:33.199 That obedience, 00:12:34.739 --> 00:12:35.839 At times, 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:38.539 Leads to struggle, 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:39.620 And trial, 00:12:40.139 --> 00:12:41.039 And difficulty, 00:12:41.719 --> 00:12:43.539 And even confusion. 00:12:45.259 --> 00:12:47.139 And as you go along in the Christian life, 00:12:47.219 --> 00:12:48.459 You encounter Christians, 00:12:48.599 --> 00:12:50.419 Who have been obedient to the Lord, 00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:53.179 And things do not seem to have worked out, 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:57.299 The way they extrapolated from their obedience into the future. 00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:01.620 And sometimes it takes us a little while, 00:13:01.819 --> 00:13:03.659 To come to understand, 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:06.779 That the Lord fulfills His purposes, 00:13:07.339 --> 00:13:08.219 In our lives, 00:13:08.259 --> 00:13:10.099 Not according to our plans, 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:12.419 Not according to our timetable, 00:13:12.419 --> 00:13:17.099 But according to His own purposes, 00:13:17.740 --> 00:13:19.120 For our lives, 00:13:20.099 --> 00:13:21.240 In order that, 00:13:21.379 --> 00:13:22.939 And this is obviously the point, 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:23.579 Isn't it? 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:26.459 In order that through the difficulties, 00:13:27.259 --> 00:13:28.679 He will do something, 00:13:29.199 --> 00:13:29.779 In us, 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:30.659 For us, 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:32.079 And through us, 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:35.179 That would not have been true for us, 00:13:35.539 --> 00:13:37.679 In days of ease. 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:40.679 So this is the first principle, 00:13:40.819 --> 00:13:41.419 That we learn. 00:13:42.979 --> 00:13:43.779 The Lord Jesus, 00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:45.759 Who leads us to green pastures, 00:13:45.899 --> 00:13:47.659 And beside quiet waters, 00:13:48.479 --> 00:13:49.659 May also lead us, 00:13:49.779 --> 00:13:51.299 Into storms. 00:13:52.959 --> 00:13:53.699 And of course, 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:56.039 That's the very moment, 00:13:56.219 --> 00:13:56.839 That we, 00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:59.079 Begin to understand, 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:01.199 We can no longer trust, 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:02.159 In our own wisdom. 00:14:02.459 --> 00:14:04.179 We need to learn to trust, 00:14:04.319 --> 00:14:05.120 In His wisdom. 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:06.559 And the reason, 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:08.739 Jesus appears to me, 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:10.579 To lead these disciples, 00:14:10.759 --> 00:14:11.679 Into the storm, 00:14:12.479 --> 00:14:12.919 Is, 00:14:13.359 --> 00:14:14.079 Not just because, 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:15.000 He wants to lead them, 00:14:15.019 --> 00:14:15.799 Into difficulty, 00:14:15.939 --> 00:14:16.799 And that's it. 00:14:17.699 --> 00:14:18.459 But because, 00:14:18.599 --> 00:14:19.419 He especially, 00:14:19.619 --> 00:14:20.459 Wants to, 00:14:21.099 --> 00:14:21.579 Test, 00:14:21.839 --> 00:14:22.299 And, 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:23.319 Try, 00:14:24.379 --> 00:14:25.419 Their faith. 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:27.979 And this emerges, 00:14:28.179 --> 00:14:28.659 Doesn't it? 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:29.199 In verse, 00:14:29.339 --> 00:14:30.559 38, 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:31.899 He's asleep there, 00:14:31.979 --> 00:14:33.059 On the cushion, 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:34.459 And they wake him, 00:14:34.719 --> 00:14:35.559 And they say to him, 00:14:35.839 --> 00:14:36.239 Teacher, 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:37.779 Do you not care, 00:14:38.139 --> 00:14:39.220 That we are perishing? 00:14:39.340 --> 00:14:40.240 That's their concern, 00:14:40.340 --> 00:14:42.000 He doesn't seem to care. 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:43.659 But you notice, 00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:45.259 What Jesus response is, 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:47.320 The question here, 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:48.680 Is not whether I care, 00:14:48.779 --> 00:14:49.480 The question here, 00:14:49.560 --> 00:14:51.060 Is whether you have faith. 00:14:52.180 --> 00:14:53.840 That's what this is really about. 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:56.899 When you shake me, 00:14:56.980 --> 00:14:57.560 And wake me, 00:14:57.620 --> 00:14:58.379 You are saying to me, 00:14:58.440 --> 00:14:59.399 Don't you care? 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:02.720 And, 00:15:02.779 --> 00:15:03.519 Of course, 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:04.919 They had really lost sight of him, 00:15:04.939 --> 00:15:05.600 At that point. 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:07.519 He wasn't only, 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:08.340 In the boat, 00:15:08.419 --> 00:15:09.199 Because he cared, 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:10.100 He was in the world, 00:15:10.199 --> 00:15:11.079 Because he cared. 00:15:12.220 --> 00:15:13.799 He'd come to be the saviour, 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:14.799 Because he cared. 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:16.799 And so, 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:18.240 They had lost sight, 00:15:18.439 --> 00:15:18.740 Of, 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:20.319 Their friends, 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:21.919 Heart of love, 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:23.019 Towards them. 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:25.819 In the midst of this panic, 00:15:26.019 --> 00:15:27.159 The waves, 00:15:27.299 --> 00:15:28.620 Had been bigger to them, 00:15:28.699 --> 00:15:29.799 Than the saviour. 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:32.879 And they'd also lost sight, 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:33.699 Of something else. 00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:35.740 Their master, 00:15:35.939 --> 00:15:36.819 Had said to them, 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:38.740 Let us go over, 00:15:38.980 --> 00:15:40.220 To the other side. 00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:42.279 So, 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:42.720 In a sense, 00:15:42.800 --> 00:15:43.940 They lost sight, 00:15:44.300 --> 00:15:46.519 Of Jesus' love for them, 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:48.080 And they lost sight, 00:15:48.139 --> 00:15:50.100 Of Jesus' words to them. 00:15:51.940 --> 00:15:52.940 Because this, 00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:53.840 Would be true, 00:15:54.300 --> 00:15:54.700 Again, 00:15:54.820 --> 00:15:55.620 Of Simon Peter. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:57.139 Their eyes, 00:15:57.200 --> 00:15:58.040 Were diverted, 00:15:58.180 --> 00:15:59.500 From who he is, 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:00.700 To what they saw. 00:16:01.680 --> 00:16:02.240 Their eyes, 00:16:02.300 --> 00:16:03.019 Were diverted, 00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:04.800 From his interpretation, 00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:06.600 Of what was going to happen, 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:08.180 To their interpretation, 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:09.540 Of what was happening. 00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:14.779 And the interesting thing is, 00:16:14.899 --> 00:16:15.740 This question, 00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:17.019 Don't you care? 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:19.580 I wonder if you can remember, 00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:20.800 What I think, 00:16:21.019 --> 00:16:22.440 May be the only other place, 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:23.279 In the gospels, 00:16:23.420 --> 00:16:24.980 Where this question is asked. 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:32.879 This is a, 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:33.540 This is a, 00:16:33.540 --> 00:16:34.420 Obviously, 00:16:34.800 --> 00:16:36.060 A great crisis. 00:16:37.660 --> 00:16:38.920 These men, 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:40.479 This is a, 00:16:40.479 --> 00:16:41.639 Man crisis. 00:16:43.319 --> 00:16:44.379 But the other place, 00:16:44.479 --> 00:16:45.699 Where this question is asked, 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:46.759 Is with, 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:47.959 With Martha and Mary, 00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:48.479 Isn't it? 00:16:50.299 --> 00:16:50.559 Don't, 00:16:50.599 --> 00:16:51.779 Don't you see her there, 00:16:52.219 --> 00:16:53.539 Coming out of the kitchen, 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:54.299 Standing, 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:55.679 In front of Jesus, 00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:57.339 Who is, 00:16:57.339 --> 00:16:57.779 Who is apparently, 00:16:57.779 --> 00:16:58.479 Seated, 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:00.719 Towering over him, 00:17:01.239 --> 00:17:03.039 Fists clenched, 00:17:03.979 --> 00:17:05.659 Body tensed, 00:17:05.659 --> 00:17:08.679 Don't you care, 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:10.240 My sister's not helping me? 00:17:12.299 --> 00:17:13.259 So it could be, 00:17:13.299 --> 00:17:14.119 A fishing crisis, 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:14.819 Or it could be, 00:17:14.879 --> 00:17:15.919 A domestic crisis, 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:18.099 It doesn't need to be, 00:17:18.159 --> 00:17:19.319 Some big deal, 00:17:20.779 --> 00:17:21.879 It can just be, 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:22.639 That there are guests, 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:23.619 Coming for lunch, 00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:26.239 And, 00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:27.500 And, 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:27.819 And what, 00:17:27.939 --> 00:17:28.959 What you are doing, 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:29.399 Under, 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:30.899 Under the guise, 00:17:30.899 --> 00:17:31.859 Of complaining, 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:33.039 About somebody else, 00:17:33.479 --> 00:17:34.199 Is actually, 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:36.159 At the end of the day, 00:17:37.399 --> 00:17:38.439 Not trusting Jesus, 00:17:39.579 --> 00:17:40.399 And of course, 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:41.059 That was the, 00:17:41.579 --> 00:17:42.899 That was the whole situation, 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:43.579 Wasn't it? 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:45.559 Mary's chosen, 00:17:45.679 --> 00:17:46.539 The better part, 00:17:47.500 --> 00:17:48.519 She's looking at me, 00:17:49.259 --> 00:17:50.459 She's listening to me, 00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:52.720 Her sister, 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:53.660 Was actually, 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:54.799 She was actually doing, 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:56.360 The very two things, 00:17:56.460 --> 00:17:57.039 The disciples, 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:57.840 In the boat, 00:17:57.940 --> 00:17:58.519 Were doing, 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:00.759 They'd taken their eyes, 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:02.759 Off who Jesus really is, 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:03.079 And, 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:04.660 They had, 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:06.100 Stopped listening, 00:18:06.180 --> 00:18:06.880 To his word, 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:08.759 And he, 00:18:08.940 --> 00:18:09.960 What he was doing, 00:18:10.100 --> 00:18:11.120 What he was testing, 00:18:11.259 --> 00:18:12.019 His workmanship, 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:13.039 That's what he was doing, 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:14.559 That's what good workmen do, 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:15.120 Don't they? 00:18:16.259 --> 00:18:16.559 I, 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:17.140 I, 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:17.940 I rarely, 00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:19.079 I'm rarely allowed, 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:20.340 To try to make anything, 00:18:20.460 --> 00:18:21.960 Because I'm a danger, 00:18:22.620 --> 00:18:22.980 Okay, 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:25.000 But when I have, 00:18:25.140 --> 00:18:26.539 Secretly bought something, 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:27.840 And family have been away, 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:28.220 And thought, 00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:29.240 I'll show them, 00:18:30.220 --> 00:18:30.420 Hey, 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:32.279 When I've got to page 16, 00:18:32.340 --> 00:18:32.960 In the kit, 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:34.759 The last thing I'm going to do, 00:18:34.840 --> 00:18:35.620 Is test it, 00:18:36.360 --> 00:18:37.420 Why's that? 00:18:38.600 --> 00:18:39.120 Because, 00:18:39.779 --> 00:18:40.240 I, 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:41.539 I know, 00:18:41.660 --> 00:18:42.460 My workmanship, 00:18:42.620 --> 00:18:43.940 Is so shoddy, 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:45.700 It's all going to fall to pieces, 00:18:47.220 --> 00:18:49.000 But a good workman, 00:18:49.059 --> 00:18:50.380 I've seen good workmen, 00:18:51.220 --> 00:18:51.980 They test, 00:18:52.059 --> 00:18:52.799 What they've done, 00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:54.539 They prove, 00:18:54.620 --> 00:18:55.360 What they've done, 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:57.680 And the Lord Jesus, 00:18:57.880 --> 00:18:58.980 Is a good workman, 00:18:59.059 --> 00:18:59.360 And he's, 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:00.860 He's actually testing, 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:02.440 How much has been done, 00:19:02.539 --> 00:19:03.799 In the hearts of these, 00:19:04.100 --> 00:19:05.180 Beloved disciples, 00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:06.360 Of his, 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:08.180 And, 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:10.100 What he finds, 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:11.079 That looks like, 00:19:11.140 --> 00:19:12.319 Rather to their embarrassment, 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:13.840 Is that not very much, 00:19:13.840 --> 00:19:14.740 Has been accomplished, 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:17.420 Why, 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:18.880 Are you so afraid, 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:20.120 Well, 00:19:20.900 --> 00:19:21.339 You know, 00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:22.599 I mean, 00:19:22.620 --> 00:19:23.559 I guess they were exhausted, 00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:24.640 By the experience, 00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:25.640 But maybe some of them, 00:19:25.700 --> 00:19:26.079 Are thinking, 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:26.859 What do you mean, 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:28.259 Why are you so afraid, 00:19:28.259 --> 00:19:34.480 Who are you right, 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:35.240 To be afraid, 00:19:36.579 --> 00:19:38.160 And he's really saying, 00:19:38.859 --> 00:19:39.079 Not, 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:40.559 Not if you call me Lord, 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:43.019 Not if you call me Savior, 00:19:43.019 --> 00:19:44.859 He's really, 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:46.240 He's testing, 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:47.299 His workmanship, 00:19:48.180 --> 00:19:49.539 To see, 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:50.599 How stable, 00:19:50.819 --> 00:19:51.660 What has been, 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:53.059 Accomplished in them, 00:19:53.180 --> 00:19:53.660 Is, 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:55.039 In order that, 00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:56.200 They may see, 00:19:57.700 --> 00:19:58.940 How unstable, 00:19:59.139 --> 00:19:59.920 They have been, 00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:02.019 And of course, 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:02.599 Be brought, 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:03.519 To trust him, 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:04.660 More fully, 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:06.779 To trust his word, 00:20:06.900 --> 00:20:07.700 More certainly, 00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:10.240 And to trust his love, 00:20:11.579 --> 00:20:12.740 And this is how, 00:20:12.740 --> 00:20:13.579 The Lord works, 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:14.220 Isn't it? 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:16.160 This is, 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:16.880 This is what, 00:20:17.019 --> 00:20:18.359 This is what the rest of scripture, 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:19.299 Teaches us, 00:20:20.059 --> 00:20:21.059 Tribulation, 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:22.960 Works patience, 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:24.000 And patience, 00:20:24.259 --> 00:20:25.079 Works endurance, 00:20:25.420 --> 00:20:26.200 And endurance, 00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:27.440 Produces character, 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:28.640 And character, 00:20:28.819 --> 00:20:30.339 Produces hope, 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:32.240 The Lord, 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:34.160 Tests his work, 00:20:34.299 --> 00:20:34.880 To see, 00:20:35.220 --> 00:20:36.180 What's in us, 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:37.079 And I think what is, 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:38.880 Kind of interesting here, 00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:41.140 Especially if we think of this, 00:20:41.220 --> 00:20:42.400 As the memoirs, 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:43.700 Of Simon Peter, 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:44.700 Is, 00:20:45.180 --> 00:20:46.519 That four of these fellows, 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:47.320 Were presumably, 00:20:47.500 --> 00:20:48.360 Master fishermen, 00:20:49.360 --> 00:20:49.900 Those of you, 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:50.940 Have been to the sea of Galilee, 00:20:51.040 --> 00:20:52.519 It ain't a big sea, 00:20:53.800 --> 00:20:57.700 And he was a carpenter, 00:20:58.740 --> 00:20:59.660 So, 00:21:00.140 --> 00:21:01.259 It would be natural, 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:02.280 For them to think, 00:21:02.360 --> 00:21:03.280 That they were completely, 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:04.420 In control, 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:05.860 Of the situation, 00:21:05.860 --> 00:21:06.740 In a sense, 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:07.560 Even in control, 00:21:07.660 --> 00:21:08.180 Of Jesus, 00:21:08.180 --> 00:21:10.799 But you see what Jesus, 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:11.279 Is doing, 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:11.640 Because, 00:21:11.640 --> 00:21:13.019 Because this also, 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:13.779 Is a pattern, 00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:15.620 Jesus, 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:17.380 Is putting pressure, 00:21:18.100 --> 00:21:19.360 On what they think, 00:21:20.039 --> 00:21:20.740 Is their, 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:22.500 Strongest point, 00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:24.600 To show them, 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:25.880 That it's, 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:27.620 That they're strong points, 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:29.259 That they are weak, 00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:30.980 Actually, 00:21:30.980 --> 00:21:31.720 It's a little like, 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:33.319 What happens to the prophet Isaiah, 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:33.940 Isn't it? 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:36.119 What does the prophet Isaiah, 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:37.220 Discover in the, 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:39.059 In the holy presence, 00:21:39.140 --> 00:21:39.819 Of God, 00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:41.119 He discovers, 00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:41.960 That he's a man, 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:42.879 Of unclean lips, 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:44.800 I like to imagine, 00:21:44.800 --> 00:21:45.760 I'm staggering out, 00:21:45.820 --> 00:21:46.600 Of that experience, 00:21:46.740 --> 00:21:47.760 Going down to his, 00:21:48.100 --> 00:21:49.360 His friend Benjamin, 00:21:49.980 --> 00:21:51.100 White faced, 00:21:51.320 --> 00:21:51.920 And Benjamin, 00:21:52.100 --> 00:21:52.680 Sitting him down, 00:21:52.800 --> 00:21:53.540 Saying what's wrong, 00:21:54.020 --> 00:21:55.120 And Isaiah saying, 00:21:55.560 --> 00:21:56.620 I have just, 00:21:56.760 --> 00:21:57.740 Really discovered, 00:21:57.920 --> 00:21:58.660 For the first time, 00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:00.000 A man of unclean lips, 00:22:00.340 --> 00:22:01.280 If I'd been Benjamin, 00:22:01.360 --> 00:22:02.680 I know what I would have told him, 00:22:04.300 --> 00:22:05.220 Think of the number of people, 00:22:05.280 --> 00:22:05.760 In Jerusalem, 00:22:05.900 --> 00:22:06.400 Being blessed, 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:07.120 By your preaching, 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:09.060 You're the most, 00:22:09.060 --> 00:22:09.920 Elequent prophet, 00:22:10.060 --> 00:22:11.100 We've had around here, 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:12.360 For decades, 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:13.679 If not centuries, 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:17.439 You're, 00:22:17.439 --> 00:22:19.279 You're overstretched, 00:22:20.419 --> 00:22:21.219 Here's some money, 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:23.379 To take a Mediterranean cruise, 00:22:25.399 --> 00:22:25.779 And, 00:22:25.919 --> 00:22:27.379 I like to imagine, 00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:28.439 Maybe this is because, 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:29.579 Of where I was brought up, 00:22:29.639 --> 00:22:30.819 I like to imagine, 00:22:30.899 --> 00:22:31.939 Isaiah leaning over, 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:32.719 And picking him up, 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:33.419 By the lapels, 00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:33.719 And saying, 00:22:33.959 --> 00:22:34.919 You're not listening, 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:36.719 To a word I'm saying, 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:37.839 I, 00:22:38.279 --> 00:22:39.879 Am a man of unclean lips, 00:22:40.359 --> 00:22:41.319 Now what's the point, 00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:42.700 The point is, 00:22:42.779 --> 00:22:44.879 Those lips were his greatest gift, 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:48.139 And therefore, 00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:48.879 Of course, 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:51.019 The easiest thing, 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:53.619 For him to rely on, 00:22:54.379 --> 00:22:56.079 And here are these fishermen, 00:22:56.759 --> 00:22:57.779 And this is their, 00:22:57.919 --> 00:22:59.619 This is their strong suit, 00:23:00.159 --> 00:23:02.099 This is their greatest gift, 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:03.939 It is in this area, 00:23:04.059 --> 00:23:05.599 That they know everything, 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:08.219 And Jesus seems to know nothing, 00:23:08.219 --> 00:23:11.519 And he's testing, 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:13.379 Their faith in him, 00:23:13.639 --> 00:23:14.659 Rather than their, 00:23:14.659 --> 00:23:16.219 Trust in themselves, 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:17.399 And in their gifts, 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:18.639 And in their abilities, 00:23:18.639 --> 00:23:21.119 Which would prove, 00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:22.500 Fatal to them, 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:25.000 So why, 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:26.439 Why does he do it, 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:26.939 In this, 00:23:27.339 --> 00:23:27.779 I think, 00:23:27.879 --> 00:23:29.199 Kind of extreme way, 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:31.400 Well, 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:31.980 I think, 00:23:32.080 --> 00:23:33.360 The answer to that is, 00:23:33.900 --> 00:23:34.880 Because he means, 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:36.120 To use these men, 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:37.900 In a very extraordinary way, 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:40.299 I mean, 00:23:40.360 --> 00:23:41.400 The eleven of these men, 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:42.420 Will stand before him, 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:42.980 And be told, 00:23:43.100 --> 00:23:44.360 To go to the ends of the earth, 00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:45.140 With the gospel, 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:48.640 And this is how it is, 00:23:49.460 --> 00:23:50.519 The Lord, 00:23:50.980 --> 00:23:51.799 Had led them, 00:23:51.940 --> 00:23:52.880 Into this difficulty, 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:55.060 The Lord had done it, 00:23:55.060 --> 00:23:55.760 In order, 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:57.840 To test, 00:23:58.240 --> 00:23:59.340 Their faith, 00:24:00.460 --> 00:24:01.100 And to, 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:02.140 Show them, 00:24:02.300 --> 00:24:03.660 How much more, 00:24:03.780 --> 00:24:05.120 They needed to wean on him, 00:24:06.500 --> 00:24:07.380 And then of course, 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:07.960 Ultimately, 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:09.100 In that context, 00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:10.200 There was a third thing, 00:24:11.820 --> 00:24:12.380 He leads them, 00:24:12.500 --> 00:24:13.200 Into the difficulty, 00:24:13.340 --> 00:24:14.420 He tests their faith, 00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:16.320 And then he shows them, 00:24:16.440 --> 00:24:17.080 His glory, 00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:18.920 And this surely, 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:20.280 Was his ultimate purpose, 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:20.940 The way in which, 00:24:21.060 --> 00:24:22.460 The narrative ends, 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:24.940 Is the ultimate purpose, 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:26.040 The wind ceases, 00:24:26.280 --> 00:24:27.340 There's a great calm, 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:29.400 He asks them, 00:24:29.900 --> 00:24:30.880 Do you still, 00:24:31.040 --> 00:24:32.100 Have no faith, 00:24:33.120 --> 00:24:34.220 And they were filled, 00:24:34.420 --> 00:24:36.960 With this great fear, 00:24:37.120 --> 00:24:38.760 This overwhelming sense of, 00:24:39.140 --> 00:24:39.520 Awe, 00:24:40.080 --> 00:24:41.140 And they say, 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:43.140 Not I think in unbelief, 00:24:44.320 --> 00:24:45.380 But in wonder, 00:24:46.060 --> 00:24:46.660 And awe, 00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:48.580 Who then is this, 00:24:50.040 --> 00:24:50.940 We took him, 00:24:51.080 --> 00:24:52.020 Just as he was, 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:53.000 But what we have, 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:53.859 Discovered here, 00:24:53.940 --> 00:24:54.559 Is just, 00:24:54.559 --> 00:24:56.500 What he really was, 00:24:57.299 --> 00:24:58.359 For even the wind, 00:24:58.500 --> 00:24:59.319 And the waves, 00:24:59.819 --> 00:25:00.639 Obey him, 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:03.839 Because, 00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:05.619 He is of course, 00:25:05.700 --> 00:25:06.539 Not only the lord, 00:25:06.599 --> 00:25:07.259 Of their lives, 00:25:07.379 --> 00:25:08.019 He's the lord, 00:25:08.099 --> 00:25:08.480 Of their, 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:10.200 Circumstances, 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:14.940 Sometimes wonder, 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:16.799 You know, 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:19.000 About Jesus, 00:25:19.180 --> 00:25:19.899 Putting his head, 00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:20.559 On that pillow, 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:23.119 You would love, 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:23.779 To know, 00:25:23.919 --> 00:25:24.639 What sometimes, 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:25.700 Went on in his mind, 00:25:25.779 --> 00:25:26.099 Wouldn't you, 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:27.480 You know, 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:28.119 Is he thinking, 00:25:29.299 --> 00:25:29.619 Um, 00:25:30.139 --> 00:25:30.639 How long, 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:32.220 How long will they give me, 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:36.099 But the other thing, 00:25:36.139 --> 00:25:36.940 I wonder about, 00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:38.159 Is actually, 00:25:38.339 --> 00:25:39.259 About Simon Peter, 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:41.200 Um, 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:43.400 And sometimes, 00:25:43.500 --> 00:25:44.319 My imagination, 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:45.720 I think about Peter, 00:25:46.359 --> 00:25:46.859 Uh, 00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:47.420 Who could be, 00:25:47.539 --> 00:25:48.740 A stubborn idiot, 00:25:49.259 --> 00:25:51.940 Having some sense, 00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:53.359 That on this sea of Galilee, 00:25:53.460 --> 00:25:54.400 He knew so well, 00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:55.279 There was likely, 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:56.140 To be a storm, 00:25:56.839 --> 00:25:57.460 And saying, 00:25:57.539 --> 00:25:58.480 Well you lot can go, 00:25:58.559 --> 00:25:59.299 And I'm not going, 00:26:00.339 --> 00:26:00.960 And seeing, 00:26:01.420 --> 00:26:01.920 This boat, 00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:03.279 Sail into the storm, 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:05.259 The water coming in, 00:26:05.420 --> 00:26:06.900 The clouds coming down, 00:26:06.900 --> 00:26:08.140 Uh, 00:26:08.180 --> 00:26:08.980 And standing, 00:26:09.240 --> 00:26:10.900 Watching with mixed emotions, 00:26:11.259 --> 00:26:12.680 Some percentage of him, 00:26:12.820 --> 00:26:13.240 Saying, 00:26:14.280 --> 00:26:15.460 You should have listened to me, 00:26:15.460 --> 00:26:18.040 And, 00:26:18.420 --> 00:26:19.580 As I think about him, 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:21.380 I think, 00:26:22.300 --> 00:26:24.060 What would he have lost, 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:26.280 By staying on the shore, 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:29.259 And the thing he would have lost, 00:26:29.380 --> 00:26:29.940 Would have been, 00:26:31.040 --> 00:26:32.440 He wouldn't have been a witness, 00:26:33.100 --> 00:26:34.000 To the glory, 00:26:34.820 --> 00:26:36.360 Of the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:38.940 Later on, 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:39.300 Of course, 00:26:39.360 --> 00:26:40.519 He was an eyewitness, 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:41.840 To the glory, 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:43.440 Of the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:26:44.180 --> 00:26:44.759 But here, 00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:45.720 In this boat, 00:26:45.840 --> 00:26:46.640 He saw, 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:47.540 The glory, 00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:49.420 Of the Lord Jesus, 00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:50.780 And eventually, 00:26:50.780 --> 00:26:52.240 It seems to me, 00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:53.060 In the narrative, 00:26:53.380 --> 00:26:53.759 Of the, 00:26:53.900 --> 00:26:54.960 New Testament, 00:26:55.340 --> 00:26:56.060 That left, 00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:56.940 Its imprint, 00:26:57.220 --> 00:26:57.800 On him, 00:26:58.320 --> 00:26:59.180 And I say that, 00:26:59.300 --> 00:27:00.120 For this reason, 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:01.800 That later on, 00:27:01.860 --> 00:27:02.640 In the New Testament, 00:27:02.860 --> 00:27:03.780 In the Acts of the Apostles, 00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:04.379 Apostles, 00:27:04.859 --> 00:27:05.420 There came, 00:27:05.639 --> 00:27:07.119 A really great crisis, 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:08.099 In Peter's life, 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:09.059 In Acts chapter 12, 00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:09.819 He was arrested, 00:27:09.960 --> 00:27:10.799 He was in prison, 00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:11.819 Herod, 00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:14.440 Was going to bring him out, 00:27:14.519 --> 00:27:15.139 To the people, 00:27:15.799 --> 00:27:16.779 And I have little doubt, 00:27:16.899 --> 00:27:18.099 That expression means, 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:18.819 He was going to make, 00:27:18.819 --> 00:27:20.059 A public exhibition, 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:20.700 Of him, 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:22.480 And if he possibly, 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:23.859 Could man manage it, 00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:25.180 He would have Simon Peter, 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:25.839 Executed, 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:28.159 It's the occasion, 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:28.839 You remember, 00:27:28.980 --> 00:27:30.679 When God sends an angel, 00:27:31.579 --> 00:27:32.459 Into the prison, 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:34.980 Who opens the prison doors, 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:37.500 Tells Peter to come, 00:27:37.980 --> 00:27:39.039 And Peter turns up, 00:27:39.099 --> 00:27:39.819 At the door, 00:27:40.099 --> 00:27:41.579 And they can't believe, 00:27:41.659 --> 00:27:42.819 Their prayers have been answered, 00:27:43.559 --> 00:27:44.779 But do you remember, 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:46.519 In what condition, 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:48.159 Simon Peter was, 00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:48.859 That night, 00:27:49.019 --> 00:27:49.500 Presumably, 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:50.679 Before his execution, 00:27:50.859 --> 00:27:52.019 When the angel found him, 00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:54.619 The angel did, 00:27:54.619 --> 00:27:56.139 Exactly what, 00:27:57.339 --> 00:27:58.159 Peter had done, 00:27:58.319 --> 00:27:58.839 To Jesus, 00:27:59.699 --> 00:28:00.500 But he didn't use, 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:01.319 The same words, 00:28:02.339 --> 00:28:03.859 What the angel said was, 00:28:04.159 --> 00:28:04.439 Peter, 00:28:06.379 --> 00:28:07.299 Get up, 00:28:08.359 --> 00:28:09.259 Stop sleeping, 00:28:10.339 --> 00:28:11.339 Come with me, 00:28:12.699 --> 00:28:13.919 Here in the, 00:28:14.500 --> 00:28:15.659 Presence of this, 00:28:15.739 --> 00:28:16.699 Overwhelming, 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:18.119 Danger, 00:28:18.279 --> 00:28:19.699 The loss of his own life, 00:28:19.799 --> 00:28:20.659 What that would mean, 00:28:20.779 --> 00:28:22.359 For the early Christian church, 00:28:22.399 --> 00:28:23.059 Apparently, 00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:25.700 Simon Peter was able, 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:27.000 Like his master, 00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:28.339 To sleep, 00:28:29.099 --> 00:28:30.259 In the middle of the storm, 00:28:30.859 --> 00:28:32.240 Because he'd been brought, 00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:32.779 Yes, 00:28:32.859 --> 00:28:33.659 Not yet, 00:28:33.819 --> 00:28:34.460 Perfectly, 00:28:34.879 --> 00:28:35.720 But really, 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:38.099 To understand, 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:39.559 Who Jesus really was, 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:42.079 To know how much, 00:28:42.220 --> 00:28:43.139 He really cared, 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:44.759 He had died for him, 00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:47.399 And to trust his word, 00:28:47.879 --> 00:28:48.720 Implicitly, 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.720 So, 00:28:50.940 --> 00:28:51.819 In many ways, 00:28:51.940 --> 00:28:52.200 This, 00:28:52.339 --> 00:28:54.559 This beautiful little story, 00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:55.940 Is really a story, 00:28:56.600 --> 00:28:57.680 Of what it means, 00:28:57.779 --> 00:28:58.700 To become a Christian, 00:28:58.799 --> 00:28:59.539 And be a Christian, 00:29:00.380 --> 00:29:02.240 The only way to take him, 00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:03.460 Is just as he is, 00:29:03.460 --> 00:29:06.720 But although you take him, 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:07.920 Just as he is, 00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:09.100 He doesn't leave you, 00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:10.059 Just as, 00:29:10.680 --> 00:29:11.279 You are, 00:29:11.900 --> 00:29:13.160 Because he wants, 00:29:13.160 --> 00:29:14.460 To do something in you, 00:29:15.140 --> 00:29:16.160 He wants to make, 00:29:16.160 --> 00:29:16.980 Something of you, 00:29:17.740 --> 00:29:19.120 He wants to mature you, 00:29:19.180 --> 00:29:19.840 In faith, 00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:21.920 And he wants to show you, 00:29:22.019 --> 00:29:23.660 Glimpses of his glory, 00:29:24.620 --> 00:29:26.380 So that you'll recognize it, 00:29:26.620 --> 00:29:27.140 Immediately, 00:29:28.100 --> 00:29:29.039 When you see it, 00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:30.099 In its, 00:29:30.539 --> 00:29:31.139 Full, 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:32.379 Glorious, 00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:33.879 Blaze, 00:29:35.619 --> 00:29:36.680 You read this, 00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:37.599 And you know, 00:29:37.659 --> 00:29:39.019 I think you want to cheer for Jesus, 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:39.480 Don't you? 00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:41.639 And to, 00:29:42.859 --> 00:29:43.559 And to, 00:29:43.619 --> 00:29:46.019 Think to yourself, 00:29:46.980 --> 00:29:48.119 There is actually, 00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:49.440 Nothing more wonderful, 00:29:49.619 --> 00:29:50.539 In all the world, 00:29:51.059 --> 00:29:51.920 Than belonging, 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:52.779 To, 00:29:53.420 --> 00:29:55.240 The Lord Jesus Christ, 00:29:56.059 --> 00:29:57.079 Even at, 00:29:57.259 --> 00:29:58.059 Three o'clock, 00:29:58.059 --> 00:29:59.339 In a church service, 00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:01.159 On a Sunday afternoon, 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:02.000 In Ealing, 00:30:02.639 --> 00:30:04.259 I hope you do trust him, 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:05.980 And that together, 00:30:06.579 --> 00:30:07.940 We may be able to grow, 00:30:07.940 --> 00:30:09.159 In trusting him, 00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:10.240 Living for him, 00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:12.220 And catching glimpses of, 00:30:12.679 --> 00:30:12.940 His glorious, 00:30:14.099 --> 00:30:15.240 Grace to us, 00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:16.339 In the gospel, 00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:17.659 Let's pray together.