1 00:00:00,667 --> 00:00:05,750 [singing and clapping] 2 00:00:05,833 --> 00:00:10,292 Over the last 10 years I've been to Ethiopia, now 9 times. 3 00:00:10,333 --> 00:00:14,292 And it's just amazing to see Africa 4 00:00:14,333 --> 00:00:17,208 and the continent of Africa and the people of Africa 5 00:00:17,292 --> 00:00:19,542 and what Jesus is doing there. 6 00:00:19,625 --> 00:00:21,250 I just think that you just see 7 00:00:21,333 --> 00:00:28,125 a beautiful explosion of the love of Jesus, what he's doing there. 8 00:00:28,167 --> 00:00:31,167 To me, you can see it very clearly. 9 00:00:31,208 --> 00:00:32,708 Many times it just feels 10 00:00:32,792 --> 00:00:37,667 like we're serving the Ethiopian church. 11 00:00:37,750 --> 00:00:39,667 Actually I think it's just the opposite. 12 00:00:39,750 --> 00:00:44,000 I think that we will learn and we will grow more as a church 13 00:00:44,083 --> 00:00:47,667 by serving and loving on brothers and sisters. 14 00:00:47,750 --> 00:00:49,833 Jesus is building his church; 15 00:00:49,917 --> 00:00:54,167 he's absolutely building his church and we get to be a part of it. 16 00:00:54,208 --> 00:00:58,458 I think there's an opportunity to plant 1,000 churches in Ethiopia 17 00:00:58,500 --> 00:01:00,792 and 1,000 churches in India 18 00:01:00,833 --> 00:01:04,500 that we can directly be a part of over these next 15 years 19 00:01:04,542 --> 00:01:07,917 and to me that's just staggering to even pray about. 20 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:09,542 We're a family. 21 00:01:09,625 --> 00:01:12,500 Mars Hill Global is a family of people 22 00:01:12,542 --> 00:01:18,208 that are globally planting churches and making disciples 23 00:01:18,292 --> 00:01:22,167 and just a great opportunity for everyone around the world 24 00:01:22,208 --> 00:01:26,750 to be a part of what Jesus is doing through Mars Hill Church. 25 00:01:26,833 --> 00:01:28,083 Honestly, I don't know 26 00:01:28,167 --> 00:01:31,042 what Jesus is going to end up doing through Mars Hill Global, 27 00:01:31,125 --> 00:01:33,625 but I'm really excited to find out. 28 00:01:34,083 --> 00:01:41,500 [people singing] 29 00:01:42,708 --> 00:01:44,333 Are you guys ready? Are we ready? 30 00:01:44,417 --> 00:01:45,750 Are we ready to film? 31 00:01:45,833 --> 00:01:47,167 All right, howdy Mars Hill. 32 00:01:47,208 --> 00:01:51,167 Really excited to introduce you to my friend, Dr. Paul Tripp. 33 00:01:51,208 --> 00:01:52,833 He'll be preaching for us. 34 00:01:52,875 --> 00:01:54,500 He's taught for us a few times. 35 00:01:54,583 --> 00:01:55,917 We love him. 36 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:57,917 He's helped us a lot with Redemption Groups, 37 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,167 our view of biblical counseling, and also Community Groups, 38 00:02:00,250 --> 00:02:02,125 so we're very honored to have him back. 39 00:02:02,167 --> 00:02:04,583 I know you're going to really enjoy him. 40 00:02:04,667 --> 00:02:08,375 And he's been able to bring his mustache as well, 41 00:02:08,458 --> 00:02:10,792 so we're excited to have them both with us. 42 00:02:10,833 --> 00:02:13,750 And this is part of our great series My Best Sermon Ever. 43 00:02:13,833 --> 00:02:17,875 I'm out for 5 weeks this summer, and because you are the best, 44 00:02:17,958 --> 00:02:20,792 I wanted to bring in the best Bible teachers I could find, 45 00:02:20,833 --> 00:02:23,083 and I asked them to share the best sermon 46 00:02:23,167 --> 00:02:24,667 they have ever preached. 47 00:02:24,750 --> 00:02:27,958 So, we'll see what Dr. Tripp has for us. 48 00:02:37,208 --> 00:02:39,917 It's not really a mustache; it's a mutation. 49 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,583 I have three of them on my back. 50 00:02:43,667 --> 00:02:45,042 My mom had one right here. 51 00:02:45,125 --> 00:02:46,667 It was so sad. 52 00:02:46,750 --> 00:02:48,083 We'd say, "Mom, shave. 53 00:02:48,167 --> 00:02:51,250 We're going out to eat." 54 00:02:51,333 --> 00:02:56,042 Well, if you're God's child, if you've been redeemed 55 00:02:56,125 --> 00:03:00,833 by his blood, if you've been saved by his grace, 56 00:03:00,875 --> 00:03:04,333 you haven't just been forgiven. 57 00:03:04,375 --> 00:03:06,417 Now, check this out: 58 00:03:06,500 --> 00:03:10,125 you've been called to live in a brand-new, 59 00:03:10,167 --> 00:03:13,833 radically different way; 60 00:03:13,875 --> 00:03:17,000 you've been called to live 61 00:03:17,083 --> 00:03:20,500 by this thing called "faith." 62 00:03:20,583 --> 00:03:22,667 Now, here's the rope: 63 00:03:22,750 --> 00:03:25,750 Faith isn't natural to us. 64 00:03:25,833 --> 00:03:28,500 Doubt is natural; 65 00:03:28,542 --> 00:03:31,458 worry is natural; 66 00:03:31,500 --> 00:03:35,167 fear is natural; 67 00:03:35,208 --> 00:03:38,292 discouragement is natural; 68 00:03:38,333 --> 00:03:40,292 anxiety is natural; 69 00:03:40,333 --> 00:03:43,000 looking over the fence and envying the life of 70 00:03:43,083 --> 00:03:47,792 somebody else who seems to have it better than you is natural; 71 00:03:47,833 --> 00:03:49,208 waking up in the morning 72 00:03:49,292 --> 00:03:51,375 with a knot in the pit of your stomach 73 00:03:51,458 --> 00:03:53,083 because you beat yourself up all night 74 00:03:53,167 --> 00:03:55,833 with an endless catalog of what-ifs is natural; 75 00:03:55,917 --> 00:03:58,792 bringing God into the court of your judgment 76 00:03:58,833 --> 00:04:02,667 and questioning his goodness and love is natural; 77 00:04:02,708 --> 00:04:06,667 wondering if God's promises really are true is natural. 78 00:04:06,708 --> 00:04:10,333 But faith isn't natural for us. 79 00:04:10,417 --> 00:04:16,333 And so, I'd like to think with you this afternoon about 80 00:04:16,417 --> 00:04:21,500 how God works to craft in us faith, 81 00:04:21,542 --> 00:04:25,083 to transform us into people 82 00:04:25,167 --> 00:04:29,833 who really do live by faith. 83 00:04:29,875 --> 00:04:34,292 We're gonna look at the Gospel of Mark 6, 84 00:04:34,333 --> 00:04:36,708 beginning with verse 45. But before we do that, 85 00:04:36,792 --> 00:04:39,000 I want to make a distinction for you. 86 00:04:39,083 --> 00:04:41,208 It will make more sense later, 87 00:04:41,292 --> 00:04:43,042 but it's important to make it now. 88 00:04:43,125 --> 00:04:44,667 Here it is: 89 00:04:44,708 --> 00:04:49,000 there's a huge, even significant, difference 90 00:04:49,042 --> 00:04:52,500 between amazement and faith. 91 00:04:52,542 --> 00:04:57,917 You can be amazed by things that you don't actually 92 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,833 put your faith in. 93 00:05:01,917 --> 00:05:05,875 I live in Philadelphia, and we raised our children there, 94 00:05:05,958 --> 00:05:08,667 and we had the habit, like so many families 95 00:05:08,750 --> 00:05:11,583 in Philadelphia, to go down to the Jersey Shore 96 00:05:11,667 --> 00:05:15,333 for a week's vacation. 97 00:05:15,417 --> 00:05:17,542 We always said we're going down the shore. 98 00:05:17,625 --> 00:05:20,167 I don't know why people in Philadelphia say that, 99 00:05:20,208 --> 00:05:21,958 but that's the way they say it. 100 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:26,208 And we would go to a very quiet, family-oriented community called 101 00:05:26,292 --> 00:05:30,333 Ocean City, but our children would always beg us to go, 102 00:05:30,417 --> 00:05:33,542 at least for one evening, down to the next community 103 00:05:33,625 --> 00:05:35,500 down the beach called Wildwood, 104 00:05:35,583 --> 00:05:37,500 aptly named Wildwood because 105 00:05:37,583 --> 00:05:39,458 it was a bit of a wild place. 106 00:05:39,500 --> 00:05:41,917 Big, huge boardwalk there, and off the boardwalk were these 107 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,417 big, huge piers, and on these piers were big amusement parks. 108 00:05:45,500 --> 00:05:48,667 And there's a ride there at one of the parks 109 00:05:48,708 --> 00:05:53,833 that just amazed me. 110 00:05:53,917 --> 00:05:59,458 It was a big, about 50-foot-high metal frame. 111 00:05:59,500 --> 00:06:03,000 From it were hanging elastic bands. 112 00:06:03,083 --> 00:06:05,792 The bottom of the elastic bands was a pouch where they 113 00:06:05,833 --> 00:06:12,458 would strap some otherwise sane human being into the pouch, 114 00:06:12,500 --> 00:06:15,583 and they'd pull him or her back, and launch them back and forth 115 00:06:15,667 --> 00:06:18,292 over the Atlantic Ocean in the night. 116 00:06:18,333 --> 00:06:20,500 It's one of those rides where you'd text somebody, 117 00:06:20,542 --> 00:06:24,958 "I paid $7 tonight and almost died, yeah!" 118 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:27,958 Now, that ride amazed me. 119 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,167 The first time I saw it, I was transfixed. 120 00:06:30,250 --> 00:06:34,042 I was sort of like this... 121 00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:39,667 My family went off to ride rides; I was stuck there. 122 00:06:39,708 --> 00:06:41,542 They came back and got me. 123 00:06:41,625 --> 00:06:47,667 But I can tell you for sure, you will not strap Paul Tripp 124 00:06:47,750 --> 00:06:50,792 into that pouch and pull him back and launch him over 125 00:06:50,833 --> 00:06:52,583 the Atlantic Ocean in the night. 126 00:06:52,667 --> 00:06:57,167 That ride amazed me, but I would not put my faith into it. 127 00:06:57,208 --> 00:07:02,125 Now, let me say some things about the book of Mark. 128 00:07:02,167 --> 00:07:03,917 I love Mark. 129 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,292 Mark's Gospel is hard-hitting and fast-paced. 130 00:07:08,333 --> 00:07:11,333 It's a very modern Gospel in that way. 131 00:07:11,375 --> 00:07:14,500 And Mark has these two themes that course their way 132 00:07:14,542 --> 00:07:16,167 through the Gospel. 133 00:07:16,250 --> 00:07:19,500 The first one is that Mark's intention is to demonstrate 134 00:07:19,583 --> 00:07:24,000 to you that Jesus of Nazareth is, in fact, the Son of God, 135 00:07:24,083 --> 00:07:26,625 and Mark doesn't leave you any room for neutrality. 136 00:07:26,667 --> 00:07:29,167 He puts that right in your face. 137 00:07:29,250 --> 00:07:30,833 But there's another theme. 138 00:07:30,917 --> 00:07:35,875 Jesus has collected disciples, followers around him, 139 00:07:35,958 --> 00:07:39,792 and his intention is that they wouldn't be just recipients 140 00:07:39,833 --> 00:07:42,833 of the work of his kingdom, but that they would be instruments 141 00:07:42,875 --> 00:07:44,792 of the work of that kingdom as well. 142 00:07:44,833 --> 00:07:48,333 And in order to do that, they would have to be men of faith, 143 00:07:48,375 --> 00:07:51,625 but these were not men of faith. 144 00:07:51,667 --> 00:07:56,000 And so, Jesus is working to build, to craft faith in them, 145 00:07:56,042 --> 00:07:59,042 and the way he would do that is he would introduce them 146 00:07:59,125 --> 00:08:00,958 to some kind of life difficulty, 147 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,542 and in middle of that difficulty, 148 00:08:03,625 --> 00:08:06,042 he would reveal his glory. 149 00:08:06,125 --> 00:08:09,958 There's a bit of a divine equation that works its way 150 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,750 through Mark--a gospel equation. 151 00:08:13,833 --> 00:08:17,167 It's great to be on your mirror that you look on in the morning 152 00:08:17,208 --> 00:08:19,417 or on your refrigerator. 153 00:08:19,500 --> 00:08:20,833 Here it is: 154 00:08:20,875 --> 00:08:23,417 "divine power plus divine compassion 155 00:08:23,500 --> 00:08:26,000 equals everything you need." 156 00:08:26,083 --> 00:08:29,125 "Divine power, plus divine compassion, 157 00:08:29,167 --> 00:08:30,792 equals everything you need." 158 00:08:30,833 --> 00:08:33,667 DP + DC = EYN, 159 00:08:33,750 --> 00:08:36,125 for you mathematicians in the room. 160 00:08:36,167 --> 00:08:42,167 Now, let's look at Mark 6, 161 00:08:44,500 --> 00:08:46,000 verse 45. 162 00:09:32,125 --> 00:09:34,750 Now, the disciples find themselves, 163 00:09:34,833 --> 00:09:36,542 in the beginning of this passage, 164 00:09:36,625 --> 00:09:39,167 in another one of these moments of difficulty. 165 00:09:39,208 --> 00:09:42,333 They're trying to row their way across the Sea of Galilee 166 00:09:42,417 --> 00:09:44,500 to Bethsaida on the other side. 167 00:09:44,583 --> 00:09:46,917 They're facing an impossible head wind. 168 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,333 They're facing angry seas. 169 00:09:49,417 --> 00:09:52,500 If you look at the larger time clues in the past, 170 00:09:52,583 --> 00:09:54,833 they've probably been rowing for 8 hours. 171 00:09:54,875 --> 00:09:56,667 They were way beyond their strength. 172 00:09:56,708 --> 00:09:58,542 They were way beyond their ability. 173 00:09:58,625 --> 00:10:01,542 They're in a situation that's futile and exhausting 174 00:10:01,625 --> 00:10:04,042 and potentially dangerous. 175 00:10:04,125 --> 00:10:05,958 Now, when you're reading the Bible 176 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,958 and you see God's children in this kind of situation, 177 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,000 you ought to ask yourself the question, 178 00:10:12,083 --> 00:10:14,708 "How in the world did these guys get themselves 179 00:10:14,792 --> 00:10:20,333 in such a mess?" 180 00:10:20,375 --> 00:10:24,500 Maybe they had been disobedient to the command of Christ. 181 00:10:24,583 --> 00:10:29,500 Maybe they just made another foolish choice. 182 00:10:29,583 --> 00:10:32,625 Maybe they're just full of themselves thinking that they 183 00:10:32,667 --> 00:10:36,375 had greater strength and greater wisdom than they actually had. 184 00:10:36,458 --> 00:10:38,208 Well, if you look at the passage, 185 00:10:38,292 --> 00:10:40,833 none of those things are true. 186 00:10:40,917 --> 00:10:43,625 That first verse says, "Immediately he"--Christ—- 187 00:10:43,667 --> 00:10:46,708 "made his disciples get in a boat." 188 00:10:46,792 --> 00:10:51,125 These disciples are in this situation precisely because 189 00:10:51,167 --> 00:10:54,208 they've been obedient to Christ. 190 00:10:54,292 --> 00:11:00,792 They're exactly where Jesus wants them to be. 191 00:11:00,833 --> 00:11:06,458 This mess is Jesus' mess. 192 00:11:06,500 --> 00:11:08,833 It's not a result of their failure. 193 00:11:08,917 --> 00:11:11,625 It's not a result of their lack of wisdom. 194 00:11:11,667 --> 00:11:17,000 It's a result of them following his precise commands. 195 00:11:18,917 --> 00:11:22,042 Now, you should ask yourself, 196 00:11:22,125 --> 00:11:24,333 "Why would Jesus, 197 00:11:24,417 --> 00:11:29,167 "so full of grace, so full of mercy, so full of tender love, 198 00:11:29,208 --> 00:11:34,708 "so faithful, so patient, ever choose for his disciples to be 199 00:11:34,792 --> 00:11:38,333 "in this kind of situation of danger and exhaustion 200 00:11:38,375 --> 00:11:40,917 "and futility and difficulty? 201 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,958 Why, why, why? What's up with that?" 202 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,917 I'm about to hurt some of your feelings, 203 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,083 but I think it's my job. 204 00:11:56,167 --> 00:11:59,125 If you can't answer that question, 205 00:11:59,167 --> 00:12:05,542 you don't actually have a clue what God is doing in your life. 206 00:12:05,625 --> 00:12:07,250 You just don't. 207 00:12:07,333 --> 00:12:12,042 You see, Jesus knows something about the boys in the boat. 208 00:12:12,125 --> 00:12:15,458 He knows how self-righteous they can be. 209 00:12:15,500 --> 00:12:19,417 He knows how full of a sense of their own strength and wisdom 210 00:12:19,500 --> 00:12:21,750 they can be. 211 00:12:21,833 --> 00:12:25,250 He knows how much their allegiance of their heart is 212 00:12:25,333 --> 00:12:29,500 more to their little own self-oriented little kingdoms 213 00:12:29,583 --> 00:12:32,000 than it is to the grand purpose of his kingdom. 214 00:12:32,042 --> 00:12:33,708 So, hear what I'm about to say. 215 00:12:33,792 --> 00:12:36,875 Jesus will take them where they haven't chosen to go 216 00:12:36,958 --> 00:12:38,708 in order to produce in them 217 00:12:38,792 --> 00:12:40,708 what they could not achieve on their own. 218 00:12:40,792 --> 00:12:45,833 God will take you where you haven't chosen to go 219 00:12:45,917 --> 00:12:47,958 in order to produce in you 220 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:49,958 what you could not achieve on your own. 221 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:53,667 God will take you, and you and you and you 222 00:12:53,708 --> 00:12:58,208 and you where you haven't chosen to go in order to produce in you 223 00:12:58,292 --> 00:13:00,458 what you could not achieve on your own. 224 00:13:00,500 --> 00:13:02,292 You know what the Bible calls that? 225 00:13:02,333 --> 00:13:05,250 Grace. 226 00:13:05,333 --> 00:13:10,333 That's grace. 227 00:13:10,417 --> 00:13:14,458 But it's not a cool drink. 228 00:13:14,500 --> 00:13:18,583 It's not a soft pillow. 229 00:13:18,667 --> 00:13:21,292 I think, for many of us, there are moments 230 00:13:21,333 --> 00:13:24,833 when we're crying out, "Where is the grace of God?" 231 00:13:24,917 --> 00:13:29,833 and we're getting it. 232 00:13:29,917 --> 00:13:33,167 But it's not the grace of relief, 233 00:13:33,208 --> 00:13:35,625 and it's not the grace of release. 234 00:13:35,667 --> 00:13:37,500 Largely, those are to come. 235 00:13:37,583 --> 00:13:40,000 We get them in pieces, but largely they're to come, 236 00:13:40,083 --> 00:13:44,583 because what, right now, we need is the grace of refinement. 237 00:13:44,667 --> 00:13:51,417 We better become committed to teach and comfort and preach 238 00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:53,167 and encourage one another. 239 00:13:53,208 --> 00:13:57,958 Get this terminology with the theology of uncomfortable grace, 240 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,083 because very often, this side of eternity, 241 00:14:02,167 --> 00:14:06,500 the grace of God comes to us in uncomfortable forms. 242 00:14:06,583 --> 00:14:09,333 You may be saying, "Where, where, 243 00:14:09,375 --> 00:14:12,000 where is the grace that God has promised me?" 244 00:14:12,042 --> 00:14:14,417 and you're getting it, but you're getting uncomfortable 245 00:14:14,500 --> 00:14:19,667 grace because that's exactly the grace that you need. 246 00:14:24,458 --> 00:14:28,583 You see, if you're God's child and you're going through 247 00:14:28,667 --> 00:14:31,958 difficulty, you're going through an unexpected moment that you 248 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,042 would have never chosen for yourself, 249 00:14:35,125 --> 00:14:37,375 you're going through trial or suffering, 250 00:14:37,458 --> 00:14:40,958 you better not name those difficulties as a sign of his 251 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,167 inattention and unfaithfulness. 252 00:14:43,250 --> 00:14:46,458 Those difficulties are a sure sign of the zeal 253 00:14:46,500 --> 00:14:48,042 of his redemptive love. 254 00:14:48,125 --> 00:14:51,500 You're not being forgotten. You're not being forsaken. 255 00:14:51,542 --> 00:14:54,792 You're being loved. 256 00:14:54,833 --> 00:15:01,167 It's grace. It's grace. It's grace. It's grace. 257 00:15:04,167 --> 00:15:10,500 Uncomfortable grace, because that's exactly the grace 258 00:15:10,583 --> 00:15:13,667 that we need. 259 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:21,333 Look what it says next. 260 00:15:21,375 --> 00:15:23,625 "And after he had taken leave of them, 261 00:15:23,667 --> 00:15:25,833 "he went up on the mountain to pray. 262 00:15:25,875 --> 00:15:28,667 "And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, 263 00:15:28,750 --> 00:15:30,708 "and he was alone on the land. 264 00:15:30,792 --> 00:15:34,417 "And he saw that they were making headway painfully, 265 00:15:34,500 --> 00:15:37,208 "for the wind was against them. 266 00:15:37,292 --> 00:15:42,208 "And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, 267 00:15:42,292 --> 00:15:49,208 walking on the sea." Walking on the sea. 268 00:15:49,292 --> 00:15:52,167 Walking on the sea. 269 00:15:52,250 --> 00:15:55,167 Walking on the sea. 270 00:15:55,250 --> 00:15:59,375 You're way too passive here. 271 00:15:59,458 --> 00:16:03,542 Don't try this at home. 272 00:16:03,625 --> 00:16:08,500 I think there's a tendency for us to read the Bible with such 273 00:16:08,583 --> 00:16:13,500 a mental monotone, a state of spiritual paralysis where we 274 00:16:13,583 --> 00:16:17,042 don't interact with what is actually happening 275 00:16:17,125 --> 00:16:18,750 in the passage. 276 00:16:18,833 --> 00:16:23,167 That phrase, "Walking on the sea," is the linchpin, 277 00:16:23,208 --> 00:16:30,042 the turn point, the exploding moment of this passage. 278 00:16:30,125 --> 00:16:33,125 Because the minute Jesus takes that walk, 279 00:16:33,167 --> 00:16:36,375 there are two things that you're confronted with. 280 00:16:36,458 --> 00:16:38,500 Here's the first one: 281 00:16:38,542 --> 00:16:42,667 This is Lord God Almighty. 282 00:16:42,708 --> 00:16:45,250 This is King Creator. 283 00:16:45,333 --> 00:16:48,542 He can do anything with his creation that he wants to do. 284 00:16:48,625 --> 00:16:51,833 This is the Lord. 285 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:59,708 The average dude doesn't take a walk on water. 286 00:16:59,792 --> 00:17:02,958 If what Mark is trying to do is demonstrate 287 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,667 that Jesus of Nazareth is, in fact, the Son of God, 288 00:17:06,750 --> 00:17:11,375 case closed, deal done, argument won. 289 00:17:11,458 --> 00:17:16,958 This is the Lord-- bow down and worship. 290 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:21,083 But there's something else you need to notice, 291 00:17:21,167 --> 00:17:25,292 very critical for understanding this passage. 292 00:17:25,333 --> 00:17:27,917 Think with me. 293 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,708 The minute Jesus takes the walk, 294 00:17:30,792 --> 00:17:34,458 you now know what he has in mind. 295 00:17:34,500 --> 00:17:40,333 The minute Jesus takes the walk, you now know what his intention 296 00:17:40,375 --> 00:17:43,667 is for this moment. 297 00:17:43,708 --> 00:17:46,167 You may say, "Paul, I don't understand what you're saying." 298 00:17:46,250 --> 00:17:48,167 Well, think about this. 299 00:17:48,208 --> 00:17:53,833 If all Jesus wanted to do was to remove the difficulty, 300 00:17:53,875 --> 00:17:58,042 he wouldn't have had to take the walk. 301 00:17:58,125 --> 00:18:01,292 If all Jesus wanted to do was remove the difficulty, 302 00:18:01,333 --> 00:18:03,375 he wouldn't have had to take the walk. 303 00:18:03,458 --> 00:18:06,917 All he would have had to do is, from the shore, say these words, 304 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:08,917 "Peace, be still." 305 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,833 The wind would have died down, the waves would have got calm, 306 00:18:11,875 --> 00:18:15,208 and the boys in the boat would have rode the rest of the way 307 00:18:15,292 --> 00:18:16,625 across the Sea of Galilee. 308 00:18:16,667 --> 00:18:20,375 The minute Jesus takes the walk, you know, 309 00:18:20,458 --> 00:18:24,458 hear what I'm about to say, that he's not after the difficulty, 310 00:18:24,500 --> 00:18:27,875 he's after the boys in the middle of the difficulty. 311 00:18:27,958 --> 00:18:32,000 He wants to do something in the heart and lives of the men 312 00:18:32,042 --> 00:18:34,083 who are in the middle of the difficulty. 313 00:18:34,167 --> 00:18:39,167 He's not after making life easy in this moment. 314 00:18:39,208 --> 00:18:42,792 He's after transforming the guys who are in this moment 315 00:18:42,833 --> 00:18:47,000 that's anything but easy. 316 00:18:49,458 --> 00:18:52,667 Now, think about it. 317 00:18:52,708 --> 00:18:58,667 When you're in one of those unexpected difficult moments, 318 00:18:58,750 --> 00:19:02,125 what's your high priority prayer? 319 00:19:02,167 --> 00:19:04,833 Be honest. 320 00:19:04,875 --> 00:19:08,708 "A little more redemption? Bring it on, Lord. 321 00:19:08,792 --> 00:19:11,333 "A little more difficulty? 322 00:19:11,375 --> 00:19:14,000 "I'm surely a person that needs to be redeemed. 323 00:19:14,083 --> 00:19:18,708 Make this moment tougher for me." 324 00:19:18,792 --> 00:19:21,333 In those moments of difficulty, do you sing to yourself, 325 00:19:21,375 --> 00:19:24,625 "Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it. 326 00:19:24,667 --> 00:19:27,917 Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb." 327 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,000 Do you? 328 00:19:30,083 --> 00:19:36,208 Or do you get a little bit fidgety and say, 329 00:19:36,292 --> 00:19:37,917 "Come on, God. 330 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,333 "You're God, you're sovereign, you can remove this. 331 00:19:41,375 --> 00:19:46,833 "Just make it a little bit easier for me. 332 00:19:46,875 --> 00:19:48,708 "You can handle it. 333 00:19:48,792 --> 00:19:54,500 I'll sing 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness' afterwards." 334 00:19:54,542 --> 00:19:57,000 You see, here's the sad thing. 335 00:19:57,083 --> 00:20:01,083 You laugh, but maybe this is very sad. 336 00:20:01,167 --> 00:20:05,917 Maybe, for many of us, we actually want our comfort 337 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:10,375 more than we want redemption. 338 00:20:10,458 --> 00:20:16,292 We esteem a predictable, easy life more than we esteem 339 00:20:16,333 --> 00:20:22,042 the awesome, transforming work of the Redeemer. 340 00:20:22,125 --> 00:20:27,083 We would rather be around unmessy people. 341 00:20:27,167 --> 00:20:30,792 We would rather be around--live through weeks that are 342 00:20:30,833 --> 00:20:34,333 quite easy and predictable. 343 00:20:34,417 --> 00:20:38,958 We would rather have our plans and dreams come to be 344 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:43,167 rather than being transformed by grace. 345 00:20:43,208 --> 00:20:47,000 What kind of Redeemer do you want to serve? 346 00:20:47,042 --> 00:20:52,083 What kind of Messiah do you long for? 347 00:20:52,167 --> 00:20:57,542 I mean, for some of us, it doesn't take much. 348 00:20:59,667 --> 00:21:06,500 A flat tire makes us question the goodness of God. 349 00:21:06,583 --> 00:21:11,208 "I can't believe it. I thought you loved me. 350 00:21:11,292 --> 00:21:13,833 "I'm just trying to serve you, 351 00:21:13,875 --> 00:21:18,417 "and once again, my tire's gone flat. 352 00:21:18,500 --> 00:21:25,292 "If you loved me, there'd be air in my tires. 353 00:21:25,333 --> 00:21:27,500 Why, oh why?" 354 00:21:27,583 --> 00:21:31,375 It doesn't take much. 355 00:21:31,458 --> 00:21:36,792 You lose your keys, 15 minutes you're 75% of the way 356 00:21:36,833 --> 00:21:42,333 to atheism. 357 00:21:42,417 --> 00:21:44,500 It doesn't take much. 358 00:21:44,542 --> 00:21:46,500 Someone in your family has the audacity 359 00:21:46,542 --> 00:21:51,583 to disagree with you and they won't bow to the glory 360 00:21:51,667 --> 00:21:54,792 of your always-rightness, 361 00:21:54,833 --> 00:21:59,250 and you question if God exists. 362 00:21:59,333 --> 00:22:06,083 Don't be too hard on the guys on the boat. 363 00:22:07,792 --> 00:22:11,417 The minute Jesus takes the walk, 364 00:22:11,500 --> 00:22:14,417 you know what he has in mind. 365 00:22:14,500 --> 00:22:15,833 Now, here's the scene-- 366 00:22:15,875 --> 00:22:17,833 you gotta get the scene in your brain: 367 00:22:17,875 --> 00:22:20,292 The wind is still blowing. 368 00:22:20,333 --> 00:22:22,917 The waves are still crashing. 369 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,792 The boat is still bobbing up and down, 370 00:22:25,833 --> 00:22:29,667 but Jesus has now injected himself in the scene. 371 00:22:29,750 --> 00:22:31,500 He's right there with the disciples. 372 00:22:31,542 --> 00:22:33,667 Look what it says: 373 00:22:33,708 --> 00:22:35,458 "He meant to pass by them." 374 00:22:35,500 --> 00:22:37,167 It doesn't mean he needed a GPS. 375 00:22:37,250 --> 00:22:40,792 He wanted to do a big enough arc so all the disciples could see 376 00:22:40,833 --> 00:22:45,500 him, "but when they saw him walking on the sea they"-- 377 00:22:45,583 --> 00:22:50,000 immediately began to sing "'Amazing Grace.'" 378 00:22:50,042 --> 00:22:51,500 Is that what your Bible says? 379 00:22:51,583 --> 00:22:53,083 No, I think not. 380 00:22:53,167 --> 00:22:55,292 "But when they saw him walking on the sea"-- 381 00:22:55,333 --> 00:22:57,667 now check this out--"they thought it was a ghost, 382 00:22:57,750 --> 00:23:00,458 "and cried out, for they all saw him 383 00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:02,250 and were terrified." 384 00:23:02,333 --> 00:23:04,250 Now, here's the sea. 385 00:23:04,333 --> 00:23:08,250 Jesus has defied all of the laws of nature. 386 00:23:08,333 --> 00:23:11,667 He's injected himself into this moment. 387 00:23:11,708 --> 00:23:13,417 He means to do that. 388 00:23:13,500 --> 00:23:16,750 He has set the whole thing up because this moment is meant to 389 00:23:16,833 --> 00:23:19,833 transform everything these disciples think about themselves 390 00:23:19,875 --> 00:23:22,917 and think about life, yet they're not encouraged, 391 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,333 they're not comforted, they're not heartened at all. 392 00:23:26,375 --> 00:23:29,417 They're absolutely terrified, and the only thing 393 00:23:29,500 --> 00:23:33,000 they can figure out is it must be a ghost. 394 00:23:33,083 --> 00:23:36,375 It's shocking. 395 00:23:36,458 --> 00:23:40,708 You should be shocked that these guys in this boat seem 396 00:23:40,792 --> 00:23:47,000 utterly unprepared, utterly unready for this moment. 397 00:23:49,333 --> 00:23:52,792 They had seen the glory of the one who is standing 398 00:23:52,833 --> 00:23:55,292 next to this boat. 399 00:23:55,333 --> 00:23:59,000 They had seen him raise a little girl from the dead. 400 00:23:59,083 --> 00:24:04,375 She was dead. Dead dead, certifiably dead. 401 00:24:04,458 --> 00:24:07,542 They had watched him feed a large multitude of people 402 00:24:07,625 --> 00:24:11,583 with a little boy's lunch with lots of leftovers. 403 00:24:11,667 --> 00:24:14,708 They had experienced him calm another storm. 404 00:24:14,792 --> 00:24:20,167 Yet in this moment, they seem utterly unprepared and terrified 405 00:24:20,208 --> 00:24:22,333 all over again. 406 00:24:22,417 --> 00:24:26,833 What about you? 407 00:24:26,875 --> 00:24:31,625 When you go through difficulty, 408 00:24:34,917 --> 00:24:37,750 what happens to your heart? 409 00:24:37,833 --> 00:24:41,958 Where does your heart go? 410 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,958 Do you panic all over again? 411 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:49,042 Do you wonder why the person's life next to you is 412 00:24:49,125 --> 00:24:52,708 easier than yours is? 413 00:24:52,792 --> 00:24:59,625 Do you question God's goodness and love all over again? 414 00:24:59,667 --> 00:25:02,125 Do you panic trying to answer questions that you have 415 00:25:02,167 --> 00:25:05,625 no ability to answer all over again? 416 00:25:05,667 --> 00:25:11,583 What happens to you when you go through moments of difficulty? 417 00:25:11,667 --> 00:25:15,750 Where does your heart go? 418 00:25:15,833 --> 00:25:19,667 I say this all the time, and when I say it, 419 00:25:19,750 --> 00:25:24,333 people tend to laugh, but I'm really quite serious. 420 00:25:24,417 --> 00:25:28,667 No one is more influential in your life than you are 421 00:25:28,708 --> 00:25:32,833 because no one talks to you more than you do. 422 00:25:32,917 --> 00:25:35,000 You laughed. 423 00:25:35,042 --> 00:25:40,792 It was a quiet Seattle titter, but you laughed. 424 00:25:41,750 --> 00:25:46,792 Now, you have to understand that you are 425 00:25:46,833 --> 00:25:50,458 in a constant conversation with yourself. 426 00:25:50,500 --> 00:25:54,958 It's important not to move your lips, 427 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,792 and don't change places. 428 00:25:58,833 --> 00:26:00,250 They'll think you're crazy. 429 00:26:00,333 --> 00:26:02,250 They'll put you away. 430 00:26:02,333 --> 00:26:05,708 But the things that you say to you about you 431 00:26:05,792 --> 00:26:09,917 are profoundly important because they're formative of the way 432 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:15,292 you will act, react, and respond in those moments. 433 00:26:15,333 --> 00:26:17,917 Everyone in this room is a theologian. 434 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,000 Everyone in this room is a philosopher. 435 00:26:21,083 --> 00:26:23,917 Everyone in this room is an archeologist who will dig 436 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:25,792 through the mound of his existence, 437 00:26:25,833 --> 00:26:28,708 trying to make sense out of his life or her life. 438 00:26:28,792 --> 00:26:31,083 That's who we are. 439 00:26:31,167 --> 00:26:33,667 You know, the people up here like me who preach 440 00:26:33,750 --> 00:26:35,667 at these services that you regularly attend 441 00:26:35,750 --> 00:26:38,000 are not the only preachers that you listen to. 442 00:26:38,042 --> 00:26:40,625 There's another preacher that you listen to much more often, 443 00:26:40,667 --> 00:26:44,375 and in case you haven't figured it out, that preacher is you. 444 00:26:44,458 --> 00:26:49,000 And you're always preaching to yourself some kind of gospel. 445 00:26:49,042 --> 00:26:52,000 It will be the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ 446 00:26:52,083 --> 00:26:54,417 that will encourage and comfort your heart, 447 00:26:54,500 --> 00:26:58,000 or it will be some anti-gospel, a gospel of poverty 448 00:26:58,042 --> 00:27:04,333 and partiality and aloneness and inability 449 00:27:04,417 --> 00:27:08,750 and weakness and doom. 450 00:27:08,833 --> 00:27:11,333 I would ask you to be honest-- 451 00:27:11,417 --> 00:27:15,333 when you're going through the unexpected, 452 00:27:15,417 --> 00:27:17,958 when you're going through what is difficult, 453 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:19,958 where does your heart run? 454 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,875 What kind of gospel do you preach to yourself 455 00:27:24,958 --> 00:27:29,333 in that moment? 456 00:27:29,375 --> 00:27:32,583 Well, what happens next 457 00:27:32,667 --> 00:27:36,208 is one of the most beautiful pictures 458 00:27:36,292 --> 00:27:40,750 of patient, loving, tender grace 459 00:27:40,833 --> 00:27:43,250 that you have in all the New Testament. 460 00:27:43,333 --> 00:27:45,708 Now, here's a scene now: 461 00:27:45,792 --> 00:27:48,917 The wind is still blowing. 462 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,417 The waves are still crashing. 463 00:27:51,500 --> 00:27:53,417 The boat is still bobbling up and down. 464 00:27:53,500 --> 00:27:57,667 Nothing has changed in the context of the scene, 465 00:27:57,750 --> 00:28:01,792 except Jesus has now injected himself in the scene. 466 00:28:01,833 --> 00:28:03,792 But the disciples aren't heartened; 467 00:28:03,833 --> 00:28:06,250 they're panicking all over again. 468 00:28:06,333 --> 00:28:12,542 And in this moment of storm and panic, Jesus speaks, 469 00:28:12,625 --> 00:28:15,542 and what he says is beautiful. 470 00:28:15,625 --> 00:28:19,417 He would have had the right to say, "I've had it. 471 00:28:19,500 --> 00:28:23,000 "I've taught you, and I've taught you, and I've taught you. 472 00:28:23,083 --> 00:28:26,250 "I've demonstrated unbelievable glory. 473 00:28:26,333 --> 00:28:29,500 "You have heard teaching like human ears have never heard, 474 00:28:29,583 --> 00:28:31,625 "and you just don't get it. 475 00:28:31,667 --> 00:28:34,042 "I'm tired. Get out of the boat. 476 00:28:34,125 --> 00:28:38,458 I'm choosing new disciples." 477 00:28:38,500 --> 00:28:42,333 He doesn't say that. 478 00:28:42,417 --> 00:28:48,750 He speaks transformative words of grace. 479 00:28:48,833 --> 00:28:55,333 He says, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 480 00:28:55,417 --> 00:29:00,917 Look, sadly the English translations don't do 481 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:03,208 a real good job with this passage. 482 00:29:03,292 --> 00:29:07,917 I'm deeply persuaded that in the middle of this storm, 483 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:12,792 Jesus is taking one of the names of God and he's saying this: 484 00:29:12,833 --> 00:29:17,167 "Don't you understand the 'I Am' is with you? 485 00:29:17,250 --> 00:29:19,375 The 'I Am' is here." 486 00:29:19,458 --> 00:29:21,792 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 487 00:29:21,833 --> 00:29:24,792 The One on whom all the covenant promises rest. 488 00:29:24,833 --> 00:29:28,292 The One who's the same yesterday, today, and forever. 489 00:29:28,333 --> 00:29:32,250 The One who created the world by spoken word. 490 00:29:32,333 --> 00:29:34,500 The One who holds it together by his power. 491 00:29:34,542 --> 00:29:36,667 The One who is sovereign over every experience 492 00:29:36,750 --> 00:29:38,083 you will ever be in. 493 00:29:38,167 --> 00:29:41,083 The "I Am" has invaded your life by his grace. 494 00:29:41,167 --> 00:29:44,875 It's impossible for you ever to be in any moment of difficulty 495 00:29:44,958 --> 00:29:48,833 by yourself because the "I Am" has invaded your life 496 00:29:48,917 --> 00:29:50,500 by his grace. 497 00:29:50,542 --> 00:29:54,167 The "I Am" is here, the "I Am" is here, the "I Am" is here, 498 00:29:54,208 --> 00:29:59,333 the "I Am" is here. 499 00:30:02,917 --> 00:30:07,000 Yeah, you better be excited. 500 00:30:07,042 --> 00:30:08,708 The "I Am" is here. 501 00:30:08,792 --> 00:30:11,667 You see, this is what this moment is about. 502 00:30:11,708 --> 00:30:14,250 This is why Jesus set this whole thing up. 503 00:30:14,333 --> 00:30:17,333 This is why the disciples needed to be in that storm, 504 00:30:17,417 --> 00:30:21,042 because he's manufacturing this moment where now he would reveal 505 00:30:21,125 --> 00:30:24,542 the heart of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 506 00:30:24,625 --> 00:30:28,000 Every miracle of Jesus is meant to reveal something about 507 00:30:28,083 --> 00:30:29,750 the gospel. 508 00:30:29,833 --> 00:30:31,250 Here it is: 509 00:30:31,333 --> 00:30:34,792 "Don't you understand that I am with you, always, forever?" 510 00:30:34,833 --> 00:30:36,375 You're never alone. 511 00:30:36,458 --> 00:30:38,083 You're never left to your little wisdom. 512 00:30:38,167 --> 00:30:39,833 You're never left to your little strength. 513 00:30:39,875 --> 00:30:41,708 You're never left to your spiritual resources 514 00:30:41,792 --> 00:30:43,958 because the "I Am" is with you. 515 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:49,458 There's the gospel. 516 00:30:49,500 --> 00:30:55,667 You see, if you're a parent and you're at the end 517 00:30:55,708 --> 00:31:00,708 of an unusually exhausting and discouraging parental day 518 00:31:00,792 --> 00:31:04,167 because it seems as though your children have conspired together 519 00:31:04,208 --> 00:31:08,583 to be particularly rebellious, and you're walking down 520 00:31:08,667 --> 00:31:11,750 the hallway to break up one more fight, 521 00:31:11,833 --> 00:31:13,583 you better say to yourself, 522 00:31:13,667 --> 00:31:16,792 "I'm not alone in this discouraging parental moment 523 00:31:16,833 --> 00:31:23,250 because the 'I Am' has invaded my life by his grace." 524 00:31:23,333 --> 00:31:26,000 If you're facing things in your marriage that you thought 525 00:31:26,042 --> 00:31:31,750 you'd never face, and your heart is broken, 526 00:31:31,833 --> 00:31:36,958 and you don't know what to do, you better say to yourself, 527 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:40,958 "I'm not in this marriage moment by myself because my life 528 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:46,625 has been invaded by the grace of the One who is the 'I Am.'" 529 00:31:48,875 --> 00:31:54,958 If you've lost your job because somebody in a city 530 00:31:55,000 --> 00:32:00,583 a thousand miles away has made a decision that has ended 531 00:32:00,667 --> 00:32:04,250 your division of that company, and you're driving home, 532 00:32:04,333 --> 00:32:07,250 and you don't know what you're going to say to your family, 533 00:32:07,333 --> 00:32:10,458 and you don't know what the next several months is going to be 534 00:32:10,500 --> 00:32:13,000 like, you better say to yourself, 535 00:32:13,042 --> 00:32:16,500 "I'm not in this moment by myself because my life 536 00:32:16,542 --> 00:32:21,292 has been invaded by the grace of the 'I Am.'" 537 00:32:21,333 --> 00:32:25,208 If you're facing a disloyalty in a relationship, 538 00:32:25,292 --> 00:32:30,208 and you're so hurt, and you try to let it go, but you can't-- 539 00:32:30,292 --> 00:32:32,958 it seems like it haunts you-- you better say to yourself, 540 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,042 "I'm not in this moment by myself because my life has been 541 00:32:37,125 --> 00:32:43,333 invaded by the 'I Am.'" 542 00:32:43,417 --> 00:32:47,000 If you're facing physical sickness, 543 00:32:47,042 --> 00:32:50,458 and your body feels weaker than it's ever felt, 544 00:32:50,500 --> 00:32:53,333 and you're haunted by little pains that you wonder if it's 545 00:32:53,375 --> 00:32:57,167 the disease taking control, you better say to yourself, 546 00:32:57,208 --> 00:32:59,833 "I'm not in this physical moment alone because my life 547 00:32:59,917 --> 00:33:05,417 has been invaded by the grace of the 'I Am.'" 548 00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:09,667 If you're an elderly person and you're facing the weakness 549 00:33:09,750 --> 00:33:16,125 of old age, and you wonder how much strength you have left 550 00:33:16,167 --> 00:33:20,583 for how long, you better say to yourself, 551 00:33:20,667 --> 00:33:27,542 I'm not in this moment alone because my life has been invaded 552 00:33:27,625 --> 00:33:29,667 by the grace of the 'I Am.'" 553 00:33:29,750 --> 00:33:31,292 The "I Am" is here, 554 00:33:31,333 --> 00:33:33,792 the "I Am" is here, the "I Am" is here, 555 00:33:33,833 --> 00:33:36,500 the "I Am" is here. 556 00:33:36,542 --> 00:33:38,667 Now, hear what I'm about to say. 557 00:33:38,708 --> 00:33:43,917 Now you know why Jesus sent his disciples into that storm. 558 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:45,500 Now you get it. 559 00:33:45,542 --> 00:33:47,000 Hear what I'm about to say. 560 00:33:47,042 --> 00:33:51,875 Because sometimes you need the storm in order to see the glory. 561 00:33:51,958 --> 00:33:55,167 Sometimes it's in the middle of the storm, 562 00:33:55,208 --> 00:33:58,375 when you feel weaker than you've ever felt, 563 00:33:58,458 --> 00:34:00,708 that actually you begin to get it. 564 00:34:00,792 --> 00:34:04,042 You begin to realize who you are and what you've been given; 565 00:34:04,125 --> 00:34:07,958 that it's not all on your shoulders; 566 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,042 that it's not all left to your strength; 567 00:34:10,125 --> 00:34:12,125 that it's not all left to your wisdom. 568 00:34:12,167 --> 00:34:14,917 Because you've been given glorious, powerful, big, 569 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:21,083 right here, right now grace, because the "I Am" is with you. 570 00:34:23,292 --> 00:34:26,917 Well, look what happens next. 571 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:32,083 It says, "And he, Jesus, got into the boat with them, 572 00:34:32,167 --> 00:34:36,125 "and the wind ceased finally. 573 00:34:36,167 --> 00:34:41,167 And they were utterly amazed." 574 00:34:41,250 --> 00:34:46,292 Now, that's not a compliment in case you didn't know that 575 00:34:47,875 --> 00:34:52,917 because Mark makes an explanatory comment next. 576 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,500 Mark almost never makes editorial comments. 577 00:34:56,583 --> 00:34:58,333 He's just history, history, history. 578 00:34:58,375 --> 00:34:59,833 Luke is a doctor. 579 00:34:59,875 --> 00:35:01,292 He's more analytical, 580 00:35:01,333 --> 00:35:03,292 makes a lot of those kind of comments. 581 00:35:03,333 --> 00:35:04,667 But Mark can't resist, 582 00:35:04,750 --> 00:35:06,333 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 583 00:35:06,417 --> 00:35:07,833 to make an editorial comment here. 584 00:35:07,917 --> 00:35:11,542 It says, "And they were utterly amazed,"--or astounded—"for"-- 585 00:35:11,625 --> 00:35:15,750 or because--"they did not understand about the loaves, 586 00:35:15,833 --> 00:35:19,458 but their hearts were hardened." 587 00:35:19,500 --> 00:35:26,333 You see, there really is a huge, even significant difference 588 00:35:26,417 --> 00:35:29,958 between amazement and faith. 589 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,458 You can be amazed by things that you don't actually 590 00:35:32,500 --> 00:35:33,917 put your faith into. 591 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,000 Here's what amazement is: 592 00:35:36,042 --> 00:35:40,000 amazement is when you're taken beyond the categories that 593 00:35:40,083 --> 00:35:44,458 you're carrying around to explain or understand something. 594 00:35:44,500 --> 00:35:45,958 Let me say that again: 595 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,958 Amazement is when you're taken beyond the categories 596 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:52,750 that you have to explain or understand something. 597 00:35:52,833 --> 00:35:58,333 Faith is when you accept God's declaration of himself 598 00:35:58,417 --> 00:36:04,000 and his plan, and then you turn and live on that basis. 599 00:36:04,042 --> 00:36:07,167 Faith is not just something you do with your brain; 600 00:36:07,250 --> 00:36:11,167 faith is the way that you live your life. 601 00:36:11,250 --> 00:36:17,000 Hebrews 11 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, 602 00:36:17,042 --> 00:36:20,167 for the one who draws near to him"--listen to what it says-- 603 00:36:20,250 --> 00:36:22,000 "must believe that he exists." 604 00:36:22,042 --> 00:36:23,875 That's the acceptance thing. 605 00:36:23,958 --> 00:36:27,750 That's my willing acceptance of God's declaration of who he is 606 00:36:27,833 --> 00:36:29,625 and what he's doing. 607 00:36:29,667 --> 00:36:32,625 And then it says, "And he rewards those who seek him." 608 00:36:32,667 --> 00:36:35,125 That's the lifestyle part of faith. 609 00:36:35,167 --> 00:36:38,833 I live on the basis of what God has declared. 610 00:36:38,917 --> 00:36:41,375 That's faith. 611 00:36:41,458 --> 00:36:46,292 Let me give you a silly example of amazement: 612 00:36:46,333 --> 00:36:49,750 Pretend that we're outside this building talking, 613 00:36:49,833 --> 00:36:54,667 and a beautiful, very cool, low-slung, bright yellow, 614 00:36:54,750 --> 00:36:58,542 European sports car roars up in front of us. 615 00:36:58,625 --> 00:37:00,500 Throaty 12-cylinder engine. 616 00:37:00,583 --> 00:37:03,917 It's about this high at its highest point. 617 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:08,125 And that engine turns off, gull-wing doors open, 618 00:37:08,167 --> 00:37:12,500 and the man who's driving slithers out of the car because 619 00:37:12,542 --> 00:37:16,292 he's more laying down than sitting down. 620 00:37:16,333 --> 00:37:18,833 And you're very interested in this vehicle. 621 00:37:18,875 --> 00:37:22,500 You walk around it, looking at all of its beautiful angles. 622 00:37:22,542 --> 00:37:25,875 You ask him if you could get inside of it, and you slide 623 00:37:25,958 --> 00:37:28,667 inside of it, and you're more laying down than sitting down. 624 00:37:28,708 --> 00:37:31,667 It's more like a rocket ship than a car to you. 625 00:37:31,750 --> 00:37:34,042 And you get out of the car, 626 00:37:34,125 --> 00:37:36,667 and you can't resist asking that impolite, 627 00:37:36,750 --> 00:37:39,625 impertinent question, but you just--you're going to. 628 00:37:39,667 --> 00:37:45,083 You say to him, "How much did this cost?" 629 00:37:45,167 --> 00:37:50,375 And he says, "$450,000." 630 00:37:50,458 --> 00:37:52,375 I heard a whistle. 631 00:37:52,458 --> 00:37:55,833 You're impressed at that point. 632 00:37:55,917 --> 00:37:58,375 His cell phone rings. He says, "I've got to go." 633 00:37:58,458 --> 00:38:01,333 He hops in the car, gull-wing doors close, 634 00:38:01,375 --> 00:38:04,500 he clicks that 12-cylinder engine into throaty life, 635 00:38:04,583 --> 00:38:09,750 puts it in gear, and it levitates out of sight. 636 00:38:09,833 --> 00:38:12,917 Now you're amazed. 637 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,208 You don't have any categories for describing this. 638 00:38:15,292 --> 00:38:17,000 You're sort of like this: 639 00:38:17,042 --> 00:38:19,708 you're hoping the person next to you saw the same thing 640 00:38:19,792 --> 00:38:21,833 so you won't be crazy. 641 00:38:21,875 --> 00:38:24,500 You see, there is a significant difference 642 00:38:24,583 --> 00:38:26,292 between amazement and faith. 643 00:38:26,333 --> 00:38:29,583 You can be amazed by things that you don't put your faith into. 644 00:38:29,667 --> 00:38:33,125 You can be amazed by the grand sweep of the redemptive story 645 00:38:33,167 --> 00:38:35,833 in Scripture and not be living by faith. 646 00:38:35,875 --> 00:38:38,333 You can be amazed by the labyrinthine logic of 647 00:38:38,375 --> 00:38:42,417 the theology of the word of God and not be living by faith. 648 00:38:42,500 --> 00:38:45,708 You can be amazed by the preaching that you hear 649 00:38:45,792 --> 00:38:48,625 week after week and not be living by faith. 650 00:38:48,667 --> 00:38:51,708 You can be amazed at the worship music that you participate in 651 00:38:51,792 --> 00:38:53,792 and not be living by faith. 652 00:38:53,833 --> 00:38:56,500 You can be amazed by the love of your small group 653 00:38:56,583 --> 00:38:58,333 and not be living by faith. 654 00:38:58,375 --> 00:39:00,667 You can be amazed at the ministry opportunities 655 00:39:00,750 --> 00:39:04,000 that are available to you and not be living by faith. 656 00:39:04,042 --> 00:39:06,375 You can be amazed at the wonderful resources 657 00:39:06,458 --> 00:39:10,583 that are available to us in our generation to grow and mature us 658 00:39:10,667 --> 00:39:12,458 and not be living by faith. 659 00:39:12,500 --> 00:39:15,250 There's a huge, yes, significant difference 660 00:39:15,333 --> 00:39:17,333 between amazement and faith. 661 00:39:17,417 --> 00:39:22,208 This was a moment of drop-dead amazement for these men, 662 00:39:22,292 --> 00:39:25,708 but it was not a moment of faith 663 00:39:25,792 --> 00:39:28,167 because if it had been a moment of faith, 664 00:39:28,208 --> 00:39:30,250 they would have both been prepared 665 00:39:30,333 --> 00:39:33,792 and they would have not been terrified. 666 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:44,083 And Mark describes to us why. 667 00:39:46,667 --> 00:39:51,667 He says, "They did not understand about the loaves, 668 00:39:51,708 --> 00:39:54,958 but their hearts were hardened." 669 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:57,458 When he says, "They did not understand about the loaves," 670 00:39:57,500 --> 00:40:01,958 what he means is that they hadn't learned their lessons. 671 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,667 He's taken the example of the feeding of the 5,000, 672 00:40:04,708 --> 00:40:07,708 saying, "Having seen all those miracles, 673 00:40:07,792 --> 00:40:11,000 they hadn't learned their lessons." 674 00:40:11,083 --> 00:40:14,000 And they hadn't learned their lessons because--hear this-- 675 00:40:14,083 --> 00:40:16,625 they were hard of heart. 676 00:40:16,667 --> 00:40:19,000 They had hard hearts. 677 00:40:19,083 --> 00:40:21,000 Now, here's what you need to understand: 678 00:40:21,042 --> 00:40:24,708 it's possible to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ 679 00:40:24,792 --> 00:40:28,167 and have a hard heart. 680 00:40:28,250 --> 00:40:32,375 And there's actually a physical word picture here. 681 00:40:32,458 --> 00:40:35,083 It's the picture of a stony heart. 682 00:40:35,167 --> 00:40:40,375 Imagine that I would have, at this moment in this sermon, 683 00:40:40,458 --> 00:40:44,500 a stone in my hands about this big. 684 00:40:44,542 --> 00:40:50,375 And imagine that I would push on that stone with all of my might. 685 00:40:50,458 --> 00:40:54,125 What would you expect to have happen? 686 00:40:54,167 --> 00:40:56,500 Well, look at the size of my arms. 687 00:40:56,542 --> 00:40:59,583 What do you think? 688 00:40:59,667 --> 00:41:02,417 The answer is obvious for those of you who are frantically 689 00:41:02,500 --> 00:41:03,833 searching for an answer. 690 00:41:03,917 --> 00:41:08,125 Nothing, because that stone, as hard as it is, 691 00:41:08,167 --> 00:41:10,042 is resistant to change. 692 00:41:10,125 --> 00:41:15,375 It's not malleable; it's not moldable. 693 00:41:19,208 --> 00:41:22,417 It's possible to be one of God's children and be of hard heart. 694 00:41:22,500 --> 00:41:24,333 And why are people hard of heart? 695 00:41:24,375 --> 00:41:26,208 Why are they resistant to change? 696 00:41:26,292 --> 00:41:33,000 Because we get all too satisfied all too quickly of where we are. 697 00:41:35,083 --> 00:41:37,917 I don't think the big struggle of the church of 698 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:41,833 Jesus Christ--spiritual struggle--is dissatisfaction. 699 00:41:41,875 --> 00:41:44,792 I feel the big struggle of the church of Jesus Christ 700 00:41:44,833 --> 00:41:46,500 is satisfaction. 701 00:41:46,583 --> 00:41:49,208 We're all too quickly satisfied. 702 00:41:49,292 --> 00:41:53,167 We're satisfied long before God's work of grace 703 00:41:53,250 --> 00:41:56,375 is completed in us. 704 00:41:56,458 --> 00:41:58,292 And you have to know this: 705 00:41:58,333 --> 00:42:04,250 you serve a dissatisfied Redeemer. 706 00:42:04,333 --> 00:42:08,208 He will not abandon his work. 707 00:42:08,292 --> 00:42:13,042 He will not stop what he has begun until every microbe of sin 708 00:42:13,125 --> 00:42:15,667 is delivered from every cell of every heart 709 00:42:15,708 --> 00:42:17,542 of every one of his children. 710 00:42:17,625 --> 00:42:19,458 He's a dissatisfied Redeemer. 711 00:42:19,500 --> 00:42:26,333 His dissatisfaction is, in fact, your hope. 712 00:42:26,375 --> 00:42:30,625 Do you have a hard heart? 713 00:42:30,667 --> 00:42:35,167 Are you resistant to change? 714 00:42:37,292 --> 00:42:43,333 Luella, my wife, who's here with me somewhere in the audience, 715 00:42:43,417 --> 00:42:47,667 and I gave birth to a son who just didn't understand 716 00:42:47,708 --> 00:42:49,500 the concept of gifts. 717 00:42:49,542 --> 00:42:53,417 Well, Luella actually gave birth. 718 00:42:53,500 --> 00:42:56,583 Got to get the biology right here. 719 00:42:56,667 --> 00:42:59,917 We would buy Justin a gift-- 720 00:43:00,042 --> 00:43:02,000 and this happened again and again-- 721 00:43:02,042 --> 00:43:05,833 he would open the gift, discard the toy or whatever, 722 00:43:05,917 --> 00:43:08,750 and play with the box. 723 00:43:08,833 --> 00:43:11,667 It drove me nuts. 724 00:43:11,750 --> 00:43:13,792 It happened Christmas after Christmas 725 00:43:13,833 --> 00:43:15,542 and birthday after birthday. 726 00:43:15,625 --> 00:43:18,333 And so, there came one particular Christmas 727 00:43:18,375 --> 00:43:20,333 where I was determined 728 00:43:20,375 --> 00:43:24,833 that I was going to experience parental victory. 729 00:43:24,917 --> 00:43:28,167 We would find a toy that he would actually play with. 730 00:43:28,208 --> 00:43:32,833 And I grabbed Luella, and I drug her out for a longer period 731 00:43:32,917 --> 00:43:35,542 of time than really made sense because I was determined 732 00:43:35,625 --> 00:43:37,042 we were gonna find this gift. 733 00:43:37,125 --> 00:43:38,458 And we actually did. 734 00:43:38,500 --> 00:43:42,750 We actually found what we thought was the quintessential 735 00:43:42,833 --> 00:43:44,208 Justin gift. 736 00:43:44,292 --> 00:43:47,167 It was like it was made for him. 737 00:43:47,208 --> 00:43:50,542 We bought the gift. 738 00:43:50,625 --> 00:43:55,458 When it came to that moment at Christmas for him to open that 739 00:43:55,500 --> 00:43:59,417 particular present, we were surely more excited than he 740 00:43:59,500 --> 00:44:02,208 would have ever been. 741 00:44:02,292 --> 00:44:05,125 And he tore open into the box like a little boy would, 742 00:44:05,167 --> 00:44:08,208 not thinking of recycling, 743 00:44:08,292 --> 00:44:14,458 and actually began to play with the toy. 744 00:44:17,042 --> 00:44:22,250 I had such feelings of fatherly triumph. 745 00:44:22,333 --> 00:44:25,750 I went into the kitchen to get something to drink 746 00:44:25,833 --> 00:44:28,000 and got engaged in a conversation 747 00:44:28,042 --> 00:44:31,958 with another one of my relatives 748 00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:38,042 and came back out into the living room, 749 00:44:38,125 --> 00:44:43,667 and he was sitting in the box. 750 00:44:43,750 --> 00:44:47,375 Now, you may think, "Why is this man telling us this 751 00:44:47,458 --> 00:44:50,167 cute family story at the end of this sermon?" 752 00:44:50,208 --> 00:44:51,958 Well, here it is: 753 00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:55,667 you've been given, if you're God's child, the most awesome, 754 00:44:55,708 --> 00:44:59,667 glorious gift that you could ever be given. 755 00:44:59,750 --> 00:45:05,000 It's a gift that's gorgeous from every vista, every perspective. 756 00:45:05,042 --> 00:45:08,792 It's a gift you could never earn, you could never achieve, 757 00:45:08,833 --> 00:45:12,000 you could never deserve. 758 00:45:12,083 --> 00:45:18,500 It's the one gift that every human being who has ever taken 759 00:45:18,542 --> 00:45:22,708 a breath desperately needs whether they know it or not. 760 00:45:22,792 --> 00:45:25,500 It's the ultimate gift of gifts. 761 00:45:25,583 --> 00:45:29,667 It's the only gift that you'll ever be given that has the power 762 00:45:29,750 --> 00:45:34,583 to change you and everything about you. 763 00:45:34,667 --> 00:45:38,458 It's the glorious, awesome gift of gifts. 764 00:45:38,500 --> 00:45:39,833 What is it? 765 00:45:39,875 --> 00:45:45,500 It's the gift of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 766 00:45:45,583 --> 00:45:48,917 But I'm persuaded, 767 00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:53,292 in the face of being given that gift, 768 00:45:53,333 --> 00:46:00,167 there are many believers who are content to play with the box. 769 00:46:01,917 --> 00:46:06,542 They're content with a little bit of biblical literacy. 770 00:46:06,625 --> 00:46:11,417 They're content with a little bit of theological knowledge. 771 00:46:11,500 --> 00:46:16,042 They're content with episodic moments of ministry. 772 00:46:16,125 --> 00:46:19,458 They're content with a little bit better marriage, 773 00:46:19,500 --> 00:46:24,167 a little bit better parenting. 774 00:46:24,208 --> 00:46:27,333 But they're not holding onto that gift of grace and saying, 775 00:46:27,375 --> 00:46:32,125 "I can't believe I've been chosen from the mass of humanity 776 00:46:32,167 --> 00:46:33,708 "to be given this gift. 777 00:46:33,792 --> 00:46:35,708 "I can't believe it's happened to me. 778 00:46:35,792 --> 00:46:37,792 "This gift isn't part of my life; 779 00:46:37,833 --> 00:46:39,833 "this gift is everything in my life; 780 00:46:39,917 --> 00:46:41,458 "this gift is my life. 781 00:46:41,500 --> 00:46:44,333 "I'm gonna hold onto that gift of grace with both hands. 782 00:46:44,417 --> 00:46:46,833 "I want to be with people who love this gift. 783 00:46:46,917 --> 00:46:48,750 "I want to celebrate this gift. 784 00:46:48,833 --> 00:46:50,750 "I want to learn more about this gift. 785 00:46:50,833 --> 00:46:53,917 "I want this gift to do everything it was intended to do 786 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:56,000 "for me, namely transform my life. 787 00:46:56,083 --> 00:46:59,208 "I'm not letting go of this gift of grace 788 00:46:59,292 --> 00:47:02,667 until it's finished its work." 789 00:47:02,750 --> 00:47:05,833 No, they'll come on Sunday morning or Saturday night. 790 00:47:05,917 --> 00:47:10,833 They'll joyfully sing worship songs. 791 00:47:10,917 --> 00:47:15,750 But if you'd watch the video of their lives, 792 00:47:15,833 --> 00:47:21,042 their lives are driven and shaped 793 00:47:21,125 --> 00:47:25,958 by other values. 794 00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:32,167 You see, Jesus injected himself into that storm 795 00:47:32,208 --> 00:47:35,333 because he knew that boat 796 00:47:35,417 --> 00:47:40,875 was filled with identity amnesiacs. 797 00:47:40,958 --> 00:47:47,833 These men just didn't understand what--who they were 798 00:47:47,875 --> 00:47:50,458 and just didn't understand what they'd been given. 799 00:47:50,500 --> 00:47:54,208 And because they didn't, their lives were driven by other 800 00:47:54,292 --> 00:47:57,958 hopes and dreams and values. 801 00:47:58,000 --> 00:48:02,417 What set of values determines your schedule? 802 00:48:02,500 --> 00:48:05,625 What set of values shapes your relationship? 803 00:48:05,667 --> 00:48:10,333 What set of values forms the way you make decisions? 804 00:48:10,375 --> 00:48:16,375 What set of values determines your schedule? 805 00:48:16,458 --> 00:48:21,042 Are you holding onto that gift of grace 806 00:48:21,125 --> 00:48:24,583 with worshipful hands 807 00:48:24,667 --> 00:48:27,667 or are you content to play with the box? 808 00:48:27,750 --> 00:48:33,333 There really is a significant, even profound, difference between 809 00:48:33,417 --> 00:48:36,958 amazement and faith. 810 00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:39,333 Maybe you're one of God's children here this morning 811 00:48:39,375 --> 00:48:42,083 and you say, "Paul, that's me. 812 00:48:42,167 --> 00:48:46,583 "There are moments I just completely panic. 813 00:48:46,667 --> 00:48:50,167 "There are moments where I forget who I am. 814 00:48:50,250 --> 00:48:53,583 "There are moments where I doubt God's goodness. 815 00:48:53,667 --> 00:48:56,000 "Oh, there are moments when I live by faith, 816 00:48:56,042 --> 00:48:58,667 but it's spotty and irregular." 817 00:48:58,708 --> 00:49:00,833 Well, I have good news for you. 818 00:49:00,875 --> 00:49:03,167 You don't have to run away in fear. 819 00:49:03,208 --> 00:49:05,500 You don't have to wallow in guilt and shame. 820 00:49:05,583 --> 00:49:07,958 You can run in the presence of a holy God, 821 00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:12,000 weak and failing as you are, and here's why. 822 00:49:12,083 --> 00:49:15,375 I don't know if you've thought about this or not, 823 00:49:15,458 --> 00:49:18,625 but the most significant aspect of the suffering of Jesus 824 00:49:18,667 --> 00:49:20,792 was not physical. 825 00:49:20,833 --> 00:49:23,917 The most significant aspect of the suffering of Jesus 826 00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:25,667 was relational. 827 00:49:25,750 --> 00:49:28,000 It's that moment on that cross, that horrible, 828 00:49:28,042 --> 00:49:33,500 dark moment where the Father turned his back on the Son, 829 00:49:33,583 --> 00:49:36,333 and Jesus cries out in utter torment, 830 00:49:36,417 --> 00:49:39,833 "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? 831 00:49:39,875 --> 00:49:43,500 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 832 00:49:43,583 --> 00:49:50,500 Hear this: Jesus took every aspect of your rejection so you, 833 00:49:50,542 --> 00:49:54,417 as God's child, would never ever again see the back 834 00:49:54,500 --> 00:49:58,958 of God's head. 835 00:50:04,167 --> 00:50:10,500 You see, you can run to this holy God because Jesus carried 836 00:50:10,542 --> 00:50:12,833 your rejection. 837 00:50:12,917 --> 00:50:15,083 And you can run to him with the knowledge 838 00:50:15,167 --> 00:50:17,667 that there's nothing that could ever be revealed about you 839 00:50:17,708 --> 00:50:20,292 that isn't already covered by the blood of Jesus. 840 00:50:20,333 --> 00:50:27,250 And you can know this: that faith too--faith also is a gift 841 00:50:27,333 --> 00:50:31,500 of his grace. 842 00:50:31,583 --> 00:50:35,667 Maybe you would say today, 843 00:50:35,708 --> 00:50:39,667 "Paul, I don't know any of this way of faith. 844 00:50:39,708 --> 00:50:43,833 "I don't know this one who is the 'I Am.' 845 00:50:43,917 --> 00:50:46,958 "I think I've lived my life based on my own strength. 846 00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:51,875 "I've tried to be--tell myself that I'm capable 847 00:50:51,958 --> 00:50:54,583 "in my own strength and wisdom. 848 00:50:54,667 --> 00:50:57,917 "I tell myself that I'm one of the good guys, and I've realized 849 00:50:58,000 --> 00:51:02,292 "right now that I need the grace of this One you described, 850 00:51:02,333 --> 00:51:05,417 but I don't know how to find that grace." 851 00:51:05,500 --> 00:51:09,625 I would plead with you, don't leave this room until you do. 852 00:51:09,667 --> 00:51:14,208 Grab someone next to you, come forward at the end for help. 853 00:51:14,292 --> 00:51:21,125 Don't leave until your life is in the hands of the One 854 00:51:21,167 --> 00:51:23,500 who is the "I Am." 855 00:51:23,542 --> 00:51:29,833 Yes, there is a big difference between amazement and faith. 856 00:51:29,917 --> 00:51:36,167 May we be people of faith, and may we be that because of 857 00:51:36,250 --> 00:51:40,667 the operation of powerful, transforming grace. 858 00:51:40,750 --> 00:51:44,375 Let's pray. 859 00:51:44,458 --> 00:51:51,375 Lord, we are thankful for this little vignette in your life 860 00:51:51,458 --> 00:51:52,750 with the disciples. 861 00:51:52,833 --> 00:51:58,042 We're thankful for the way that it reveals us and our struggles. 862 00:51:58,125 --> 00:52:00,833 We're thankful for the way that it reveals you 863 00:52:00,875 --> 00:52:03,833 and your character and your purpose. 864 00:52:03,875 --> 00:52:10,083 And we would pray, oh, won't you continue your work of crafting, 865 00:52:10,167 --> 00:52:15,125 of building faith in us that we may live by faith. 866 00:52:15,167 --> 00:52:21,583 Thank you for big grace that is up to that task. 867 00:52:21,667 --> 00:52:27,000 We thank you that our lives will never again be the same 868 00:52:27,042 --> 00:52:30,292 because they've been invaded by the grace of the One 869 00:52:30,333 --> 00:52:32,292 who is the "I Am." 870 00:52:32,333 --> 00:52:37,667 We pray this in his sweet and strong name. Amen. 871 00:52:40,375 --> 00:52:43,333 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 872 00:52:43,375 --> 00:52:46,417 are downloaded worldwide for free. 873 00:52:46,500 --> 00:52:49,000 This ministry is generously supported 874 00:52:49,083 --> 00:52:51,667 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 875 00:52:51,708 --> 00:52:55,208 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 876 00:52:55,292 --> 00:52:58,208 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation 877 00:52:58,292 --> 00:53:01,167 by visiting marshill.com/give.