WEBVTT - Sinking In The Storm 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:08.280 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:11.040 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:11.480 gives your. 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:14.120 Perspective to see God is moving in your life. Enjoy 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:31.280 the message. Lift your name up. Lord. Thank you for 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:38.440 meeting us in the secret place. Lord. Thank you for 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:40.360 speaking to our hearts that it's going to be all 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:45.360 right and then we're gonna make it, and that you're 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:49.560 working your purpose out. Thank you for reminding us today 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:54.480 how big you are. God. Mountain is nothing to you. 0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:59.440 That mountain is nothing to you. You're a big God, 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:06.080 a great God, a worthy God, a holy God, a 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:10.039 mighty God. I give you praise. Who are you great 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:14.319 mountain to stand before my God? I give you praise. Lord, 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:18.959 I worship you today. Not a shame to praise you, 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:23.440 not a shame to celebrate you. After everything you've done 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:28.360 for me, I owe you the praise. I owe you hollelujahs. 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:31.800 I owe you ten thousand more hallelujahs. 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:37.000 If I had ten thousand tomes still, it wouldn't be enough. 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:47.440 If I had ten thousand comes enough. So Lord, every 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:49.960 need in this room, every name in this room. You know, 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:52.560 we know the name that is above every name, the 0:01:52.640 --> 0:01:55.520 name of Jesus in his name. Today we have gathered, 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:59.160 touching and agreed that it shall be done Your Kingdom, 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:01.680 come on earth as it is in heaven in our lives. 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:06.360 Touchdown now, God. I know technically that's not how it works, 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:09.360 but just bring heaven to earth for a few moments. 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:11.960 Thank you Lord for letting us get out of the 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.800 hell of our own heads and our own mines, and 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:19.840 just worship you and say Your Holy Lord. For all 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:21.600 of the people who didn't jump when I said jump, 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:25.799 forgive them, Lord, don't give them a flat tire. They're 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:27.600 just a little sore and a little tired and a 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:30.880 little insecure about their rhythm. But it's all right, Lord. 0:02:31.320 --> 0:02:33.960 We came with one purpose, and one purpose only to 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:38.240 praise your holy name. Great is your name, greatly to 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:42.440 be praise in Jesus name. Amen. Hunt ten people. 0:02:44.040 --> 0:03:00.840 Whoa this is the final week our series. 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:05.520 That's what I thought. You are sad. You are so 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.680 sad to see this series come to an end. But 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:11.440 I feel that you have no more need of teaching 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:14.480 about your mind and your thoughts. I think that we 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:19.040 have preached all the crazy out of you. If you're 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:20.880 standing next to your spouse, look at him and say, 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:25.000 pastor is delusional. Stand a b on your feet. I'm 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:27.680 gonna read the scripture right now. I'm so glad you're 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:30.919 here today. A special welcome to two of our locations. 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:36.720 Our Matthew's location is celebrating a sixteen year anniversary today, 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:42.960 Praise the Lord. Our Uptown location is celebrating seventeen years 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:49.520 of ministry today. That's amazing. That's as old as my 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:52.800 middle son. Y'all. I look at my son and Graham 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:58.000 sometimes and say, I got campuses older than you. Boy. Yeah, 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:01.600 it's good. Remember, Officer, when we used to drive around, 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:05.040 we would do Butler High School uptown, get back over 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:07.560 to Providence. This is early days of the church, because 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:11.320 we didn't have all of this sinking up between all 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:13.840 the campuses and you know, look in the camera and 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:15.560 welcome to the campuses. We didn't have all of that. 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:17.120 So if I had to get to the campus, I 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:18.880 had to get there when they were finishing the last song. 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:22.200 And they knew to always have a few extra songs ready. 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:25.719 But Josh is a police officer, so he was driving 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:28.240 like one hundred and ten miles an hour. Happy birthday 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:30.560 to Josh van Almen. By the way, those are some 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:35.800 good memories man, Me and you and that Nissan Maxima 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:39.440 just doing ministry at the speed of God. I mean, 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:42.680 just running there, huffing and puffing like I am right now, 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:45.720 after jumping around and spinning around. By the way, if 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:47.880 any of you want to be preachers one day, I 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:51.880 would not advise jumping and spinning before you preach. It 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:55.719 is very disorienting. But I just got excited about what 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:59.880 God can do. All of a sudden, I got to thinking, 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:05.480 what if God answered a prayer that some grandmother has 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:11.040 been praying for her granddaughter suddenly today. What if God 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:15.719 gave you clarity on something you've been confused about suddenly today. 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:18.719 What if you were walking out today and one of 0:05:18.720 --> 0:05:26.839 the greeters was handsome and single suddenly today. So I'm 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:30.960 excited about Jesus. I want to preach about Jesus today. 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:35.280 From Matthew chapter fourteen, verses twenty two through thirty five, 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:39.880 first Bible story that I ever preached for our last 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.640 sermon in the series. That's what I thought, Tell your neighbor, 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:48.120 that's what I thought. I say, this is the last one. 0:05:48.160 --> 0:05:49.800 I think it's the last one. If the Lord wants 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:51.800 me to keep going, I will. But my plan is 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:54.320 today to take some of the things we've been preaching 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:57.280 about and minister them to your heart. Welcome to all 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:59.520 of our locations. Put it in the comment on YouTube. 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:05.120 That's what I thought. This is our final installment. Yeah, 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:07.279 this is the first Bible story that I ever preached, 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:09.120 so I always try to preach it at least once 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:12.680 a year, just to check in and see how dumb 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:15.320 I was the last time I preached it, or what 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:18.520 new thing God will show me. Glad you're here today. Welcome, 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:22.919 Welcome to the presence of God. Welcome to a new beginning. 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:27.240 Welcome to a space where Grace reigns supreme and where 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:30.880 Jesus is Lord and King. Welcome to a place where 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:36.800 you can hear his word. Now, the Bible says a word. 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:38.880 We were just singing about this word in verse twenty two, 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:45.880 so it's appropriate. Immediately immediately Jesus made the disciples get 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:47.640 into the boat and go on ahead of him to 0:06:47.680 --> 0:06:51.800 the other side. Well, he dismissed the crowd. After he 0:06:51.839 --> 0:06:53.799 had dismissed them, he went up on a mountain side 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:58.080 by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:04.279 alone boat with the disciples. The boat was already a 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:08.680 considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:13.720 wind was against it. Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:16.600 to them walking on the lake. When the disciples saw 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:20.520 him on the lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost, 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:27.880 they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:32.560 said to them, take courage it as I don't be afraid. Lord, 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:35.920 if it's you. Peter replied, tell me to come to 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:40.160 you on the water. Come, he said. When Peter got 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:42.760 down out of the boat, walked on the water and 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:50.440 came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, it 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:55.120 was blowing the whole dime. But when he focused on 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:59.560 it what was against him. When he saw the wind, 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:04.640 he was afraid. Fear comes from focus. So does faith 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:11.720 change your focus? Increase your faith. That's why you feel 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:16.080 faith when you're in here, because you are focused in here. 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:20.080 And when he focused on what was against him, rather 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:22.880 than the one who was coming toward him, named Jesus, 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:30.880 he began to sink. He began to sink and cried out, Lord, 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:39.200 save me. Here it is again. Immediately Jesus reached out 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:42.240 his hand and caught him. You of little faith, He said, 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:45.840 why did you doubt? Why did you doubt? And when 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:47.760 they climbed into the boat, the wind died down, and 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:50.880 those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, truly, 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:53.120 this is the son of God. But go back to 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:56.120 that other verse real quick, in verse thirty. But when 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:59.360 he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:02.640 cried out, Lord, save me, And immediately Jesus reached out 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:04.520 his hand and caught him. I want to talk to 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:07.880 you today from this subject because this is how some 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:09.480 of you have been feeling. I want to talk about 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:16.079 sinking in the storm. Sinking in the storm. This is 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:20.200 the way it feels at times in our emotions, and 0:09:20.240 --> 0:09:25.719 in our lives, and in our circumstances, sinking in the storm. 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:28.760 And there is a subtitle that you can give your 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:31.040 neighbor on the way to your seat, look at them 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:34.560 and say just that quick. Hit your other neighbor and 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:39.960 say just that quick, and you may be seated sinking 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.360 in the storm. Please put the title in the comments 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:46.160 on YouTube. Let's welcome our global EPHAM joining up with 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:50.160 us right now. Come on, y'all. I know you're getting seated, 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:53.680 but let's welcome our entire church family all over the world. 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:56.760 Let us know where you're watching from. I want to 0:09:56.800 --> 0:10:00.280 talk to you today about sinking in the storm. Feeling 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:04.120 that you get sometimes that you're overwhelmed. The feeling that 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:07.640 you get sometimes that there's too much month and not 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:10.720 enough money, too much need and not enough me to 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:14.240 meet it. All that's spread thin feeling, that feeling that 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:18.199 you get, and it doesn't always announce itself, And all 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:21.120 of a sudden there is a storm and you find 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:25.679 yourself sinking in the storm. Any crazy how you can 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:29.520 be singing in the church and just a few days 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:34.520 later find yourself sinking in the storm. And this place 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:37.320 is a place that God has prepared for us, to 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:41.680 prepare us for the storms of our life. You cannot 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:47.120 be a student of Jesus without storms as your classroom. 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:51.280 Anything else would make you arrogant, anything else would make 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:54.880 you write a parenting book. And your oldest kid is three, 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:58.480 you're three months pregnant, talking about how to raise teenagers 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.600 God's way. What's wrong? Would you go through a storm 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:05.560 and then you'll have something to say in this season 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:08.080 of your life, God is calling you to be a 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:12.120 student of your storm. What does this have to do 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:16.800 with thinking? Well, it's amazing to me how quickly I 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:21.200 can go from stepping on the water, so to speak, 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:30.640 to sinking. And I can really shift quickly from being 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:36.200 focused on God to falling down and finding myself in 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:41.000 emotional states that do not resemble the fruit of the spirit. Okay, 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:45.120 just me, just me, look at your neighbors. Say. It 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:49.600 can happen quick. It can happen real quick. And if 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:51.760 your neighbor is looking like they don't know what I'm 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:53.960 talking about, cut them off in traffic on the way 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:57.959 out and see how quick they go from lifting their 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:04.120 hands to lifting one finger. It can happen just that quick. 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:08.640 Can it? Just even your phone can buzz in your pocket, 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:10.720 And it might not even be the person that you 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:12.200 don't want to hear from, with the news that you 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:15.560 don't want to hear, But just the buzz itself can 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:19.880 disrupt your peace. Can it? Even just even the buzz 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:21.880 in your pocket, it can feel like a shot collar, 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.160 just reminding you that your challenges are out there in 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:28.559 the world. Sometimes it can happen just that quick. Now. 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:41.320 I'm so glad that Jesus is a savior because I'm 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:46.400 a sinner, so I need one and I have sinful thoughts. 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:50.280 All of my thoughts aren't holy thoughts, good thoughts, pure thoughts, 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:54.360 and so I need Jesus for my sinful thoughts, which 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:58.000 can become sinful actions, which can become sinful patterns, which 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.440 may not send me to hell, but may make my 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:04.000 life on earth feel like a living hell. I'm so 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:07.200 grateful that Jesus is a savior, and I am also 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:11.240 so thankful that he is not a surface level savior. 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:16.920 That he doesn't just save me from hell when I die, 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:19.839 but he saves me from the hell in my head 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:24.400 as he transforms my mind and brings me through life's challenges. 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:29.520 I need salvation in my soul. That's my mind, my will, 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:34.120 my emotions. I need Jesus to teach me how to think. 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:37.760 And in this passage that we just read, there's a 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:43.200 conversation between the student of Jesus and Jesus the Savior, 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:49.719 and Jesus is watching him sink in the storm. By 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:53.000 the way, have you been feeling like you're sinking in 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:55.920 a storm lately in your life. And it doesn't have 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:58.840 to even be bankruptcy. It doesn't even have to be 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:02.320 something so catastrophic that everybody would take up money for 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:04.360 you if they knew about it. It doesn't have to 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:06.280 be the worst thing that ever happened in your life. 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:09.080 I just found that a lot of times I find 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:13.560 myself in like a funk or maybe even a full 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:18.640 blown feeling of depression. And in those moments when God 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.480 is watching me sink into those states, I'm grateful that 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:25.760 He does not give me surface level answers like church 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:30.760 people do. Because church people will tell you rejoice in 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:34.240 the Lord always, but they ain't rejoicing in the Lord. 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:36.640 They only been rejoicing in the Lord because they had 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:39.200 a good week. Catch them next week and they might 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:42.560 have a different answer. It can happen that quick. And 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:46.480 Jesus watching Peter fall in the middle of a storm 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.040 that had been raging all night. Remember he's been going 0:14:49.080 --> 0:14:51.640 through this all night, and he steps out, and he's 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:56.320 walking and he's sinking, and he cries out, Lord save me. 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.760 I think that's such an important phrase. One great theologian 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:01.520 who just went to be with the Lord. Doctor John 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.920 MacArthur used to say, a lot of us refuse Jesus 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.800 as Lord, but we want to use Jesus as savior. 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:14.000 So I think it's important that he called him Lord 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:17.600 before he called on him to save him. I'm trying 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:20.480 to say that God wants far more for your life 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:22.880 than to just save you from stupid stuff that you do. 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:25.920 He wants far more for your life than to just 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.360 clean up the messes that you make because you never 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:31.880 spend time with him. God wants far more for your 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:35.000 life than to have to redeem years that you waste 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:39.960 because you never get aligned with him. And so now 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:43.240 Peter calls out, Lord, save me, and the Bible says, 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:46.080 immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. Now 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:48.840 we focus a lot, and I really preached this a 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:51.680 lot at age sixteen. How Peter had the faith to 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:56.680 step out when Jesus said, come, somebody shall come. That's 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.840 a command. When Jesus gives a command, you can obey 0:15:59.920 --> 0:16:03.280 it with confidence. When Jesus gives a command, you don't 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:05.200 have to start doing the math on how it's going 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:08.760 to work out. When Jesus gives a command. He already 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:11.920 has the details in mind for how he will meet 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.800 that need before you even know about the need. So 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:19.840 when he says, come, take a step, and then we 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:25.080 talk so much about the command that we neglect the 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:29.080 question that I think is just as powerful as the command. 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:32.520 He said, come, Peter's coming, He said, walk. Peter's walking. 0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:36.280 He gave the word, and Peter is walking, not on water, 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:39.920 but on one word from Jesus. I could preach a 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:43.560 whole message about walking on one word, just one word 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:45.680 that God gives you, and you can hang on through 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:48.080 something that you never would have made it through without 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:51.520 that word, one word from Jesus, the command to come. 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:56.760 But then comes the question. After he caught him, he said, 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:01.880 you of little faith, why did you doubt? Why did 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:06.040 you doubt? Because if I can get beneath the surface 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:11.240 of why you're sinking, I can maybe stop it from 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:15.280 happening so quickly next time. A lot of times we 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:18.920 sink into things and we don't stop and ask why. 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:23.520 A lot of times we get triggered by something. And 0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:29.720 after you get triggered, see you get trapped. You don't 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:33.719 even realize how you got triggered until you're already trapped. 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:36.840 I'll break it down for you. I can see we 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:40.040 need a little real life example right now. When Holly 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:42.560 and I first got married, we went on a cruise. 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:46.600 I saved up for the cruise. It was a Princess cruise, 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:48.879 which is a little step up from some of the 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:51.199 other cruises you can buy. I was so proud of 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:53.360 that cruise and so broke after I paid for it. 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:57.560 Three days on the cruise, she was very quiet one day. 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:02.040 And when she got quiet on that cruise, it triggered 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:05.000 something inside of me that I didn't know because I 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:10.199 equated quiet with board. So when she got quiet, I 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:14.000 started to get angry because she was quiet. For Holly, 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:20.120 quiet means relaxed. Quiet means nobody telling me to do anything. 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:22.959 I don't have to talk. I love you. We're together 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:25.520 just being This is what she was saying. Your essence 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:31.960 alone is so captivating. We don't even need a conversation. 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:38.960 But I interpreted her quiet as boredom, and we would 0:18:39.000 --> 0:18:42.280 fight for years in our marriage. Anytime she would get quiet, 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:45.000 I would think, you don't like it here, This isn't 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:48.240 good enough for you. Your dad took you on better vacations. 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:53.600 What you don't need my vacation. No, I'm relaxed. But see, 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:56.960 just in such a stupid illustration like that, you see 0:18:56.960 --> 0:19:00.560 how years can go on because I'm reading her mind 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:06.080 with information that is not true data, and I am 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:09.840 triggered by something that isn't even true. But by the 0:19:09.880 --> 0:19:12.200 time I recognize what I'm triggered by, I'm already trapped 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:15.120 in it. And now we're fighting. And so now it's 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:17.320 not that we never get triggered in our marriage. But 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:19.000 here's what we do, and I want to teach you 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:22.280 how to do this. We catch it quicker, We catch 0:19:22.280 --> 0:19:26.560 it quicker. Don't your neighbors say, catch it quicker, Catch 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:29.960 it quicker before you blow up on them, before you 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:33.359 go off on them, before you hit sind on the text, 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:37.520 proofread it, hire yourself as a copy editor, and check 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:40.119 that thing one more time. Do you really want to 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:43.200 say you never? Do you really want to say you always? 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:47.040 Do you really need six exclamation points? Is it really 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:51.120 worth that emoji? Is that emoji worth the emotional expense 0:19:51.440 --> 0:19:53.120 of what you are going to spend the next week 0:19:53.200 --> 0:19:56.160 cleaning up? And all of that could have been canceled 0:19:56.480 --> 0:19:58.760 if you would have caught it quicker and read the 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:01.359 text and walk up in the morning with fresh eyes 0:20:01.400 --> 0:20:03.280 and said, I think I'll just have a conversation. But 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:07.880 we get triggered and then we get trapped. And that's 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:10.639 why the Lord sent a preacher to you today to 0:20:10.720 --> 0:20:16.840 give you truth, because the truth can keep you out 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:21.560 of the trap. Preach the word, Larry Stevens Vernick Junior. 0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:26.919 I believe I will. So when you start sinking, you 0:20:26.920 --> 0:20:29.560 get beneath the surface. And this is what we need 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:30.080 to learn to do. 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:30.239 Now. 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:32.960 They'll tell you that in therapy, if you go to therapy, 0:20:32.960 --> 0:20:36.119 they'll talk about triggers and traps and cognitive distortions. And 0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:38.800 you sound like you've been in therapy. Best or Seed, 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:48.520 no comment. We need therapy, we also need theology to 0:20:48.680 --> 0:20:52.879 produce real faith and real change in our life. So 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:55.239 I want to show you something that I couldn't end 0:20:55.240 --> 0:20:58.679 the series without showing you from Isaiah fifty five and 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:02.240 overlay it for this situation that you're facing in your life. 0:21:02.320 --> 0:21:07.040 The situation Peter faced where he's stepping, stepping, stepping, doing 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:11.440 pretty good and then sinking and doesn't even really understand why. 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:16.040 Look at Isaiah chapter fifty five, and I was debating 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:19.240 where to start, because the whole passage is so rich. 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:23.359 But for the sake of time, I think i'll start 0:21:23.400 --> 0:21:31.040 around verse six seven. It start six Isaiah fifty five, 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:38.800 verse six. Yeah, I did on purpose. Isaiah fifty five, 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:43.080 verse six. Now listen to me. This is an invitation 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:45.800 to all of you who have been sinking in the storm. 0:21:46.880 --> 0:21:50.879 The Lord offers you an invitation. The wind is the 0:21:50.880 --> 0:21:55.600 trigger and the sinking is the trap, and sometimes you 0:21:55.600 --> 0:21:57.399 feel like you're drowning in it before you even know 0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:00.000 what it is. But this is the word of the Lord, 0:22:00.640 --> 0:22:03.199 and this will be very rich to you for the 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:07.199 trials that you're going through. The Lord says, seek the 0:22:07.200 --> 0:22:11.080 Lord while he may be found, call on him while 0:22:11.080 --> 0:22:14.680 he is near. Let's read that again, Seek the Lord 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:18.199 while he may be found, Call on him while he 0:22:18.320 --> 0:22:21.520 is near. I'm coming back to that, call on him 0:22:21.520 --> 0:22:26.520 while he's near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:32.600 the unrighteous their thoughts. So this is interesting language. I'll 0:22:32.640 --> 0:22:34.520 read the whole passage, but that's where I want to 0:22:35.280 --> 0:22:39.280 camp out around verse six or seven. Let the wicked 0:22:39.320 --> 0:22:41.240 forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them 0:22:41.240 --> 0:22:42.879 turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on 0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:45.199 them and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:50.520 For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are my 0:22:50.640 --> 0:22:57.240 ways your ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher, 0:22:58.440 --> 0:23:04.920 higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:08.600 your ways. God says, I know how to do my job. 0:23:10.240 --> 0:23:14.280 God says, I know who to let leave you. God says, 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:16.159 I know who to bring into your life. That is 0:23:16.200 --> 0:23:21.119 a challenge for you. You keep praying to be a masterpiece, 0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:23.679 and every time I send someone to be the sandpaper, 0:23:23.720 --> 0:23:26.359 you push them away. But I know what tools to 0:23:26.440 --> 0:23:29.360 you to turn you into the disciple that I want 0:23:29.400 --> 0:23:32.560 you to be. He says, my ways are higher than 0:23:32.560 --> 0:23:34.919 your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:39.359 rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do 0:23:39.480 --> 0:23:42.000 not return to it without watering the earth and making 0:23:42.000 --> 0:23:44.679 it butt and flourish, so that it yields seed for 0:23:44.760 --> 0:23:47.359 the sower and bread for the eater. So is my 0:23:47.520 --> 0:23:51.399 word that goes out from my mouth. I hear Jesus 0:23:51.480 --> 0:23:55.120 saying come. When I read Isaiah fifty five, I feel 0:23:55.119 --> 0:23:58.960 the echo of this prophecy. In Matthew chapter fourteen, I 0:23:59.000 --> 0:24:01.440 feel the power of one word from God? He says, 0:24:01.760 --> 0:24:05.520 so is my word just one word? So is my 0:24:05.720 --> 0:24:08.679 word the full counsel of the Word of God has value, 0:24:08.920 --> 0:24:12.680 but just one singular word that goes from my mouth. 0:24:12.960 --> 0:24:16.200 It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish 0:24:16.240 --> 0:24:20.080 what I desire and achieve the purpose. Many are the plans, 0:24:20.400 --> 0:24:22.720 but it is the purpose for which I scent it 0:24:23.200 --> 0:24:25.639 that will be accomplished. So why did Jesus send a 0:24:25.680 --> 0:24:29.240 disciple into a storm that he knew was going to happen? 0:24:30.080 --> 0:24:33.119 And why does God allow challenges to our faith instead 0:24:33.160 --> 0:24:36.439 of just bolstering us with the Bible so that we 0:24:36.480 --> 0:24:41.639 avoid them? And Isaiah chapter fifty five gives an interesting strategy. Okay, 0:24:41.760 --> 0:24:44.120 let me teach you what Isaiah is teaching here. He says, 0:24:44.160 --> 0:24:46.879 you can seek the Lord, you can call on him, 0:24:47.080 --> 0:24:50.120 but you have to be willing verse seven to forsake 0:24:50.200 --> 0:24:55.720 your ways and your unrighteous thoughts. Now that's interesting language 0:24:56.280 --> 0:24:59.480 to say that I'm going to forsake a thought. That's 0:24:59.520 --> 0:25:03.040 crazy to me me because when you say forsake something, 0:25:03.480 --> 0:25:07.320 it's something that you have become very attached to. You 0:25:07.359 --> 0:25:10.680 don't forsake something that you don't even know, You don't 0:25:10.720 --> 0:25:14.600 even know it. To forsake something is to walk away 0:25:14.600 --> 0:25:18.080 from something that it is assumed you have responsibility for. 0:25:18.880 --> 0:25:21.600 So when God says I will never leave you nor 0:25:21.720 --> 0:25:27.000 forsake you, forsaking has baked into it the idea that 0:25:27.040 --> 0:25:29.760 I am responsible for this. I'm not saying it right. 0:25:29.920 --> 0:25:39.320 I say it. You can drop a thought like this book. 0:25:40.040 --> 0:25:46.119 You can drop a thought he said, forsake your ways 0:25:46.840 --> 0:25:50.680 because My ways are higher, and your thoughts that are 0:25:50.720 --> 0:25:55.760 not from God. And how many times have I been 0:25:55.880 --> 0:26:00.720