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00:00 Family, listen, just did a message called,
00:04 Can You Stand The Rain?
00:07 Based on Mark 4, man.
00:08 I want you to tap into this.
00:10 Wherever God's taking you,
00:11 you're gonna run into some rain.
00:13 I wanna give you keys on how to manage it well,
00:15 because how you manage a problem
00:17 determines whether or not you have more problems.
00:20 I wanna give you some keys to do that.
00:22 I have always one request of you, one request only.
00:25 If this helps you, would you help me help somebody else?
00:29 If this helps you in any way,
00:30 just send it to somebody, text it to somebody.
00:33 Freely you've received.
00:34 Come on, freely let's give.
00:36 Love you, enjoy the message.
00:38 And I don't know if you know this,
00:40 every Wednesday on YouTube, on Change Church TV,
00:44 that's what it's called, Change Church TV,
00:46 they release the Praise and Worship set.
00:49 It's called Worship on Wednesdays.
00:51 So what you just experienced today
00:53 doesn't have to be limited to today.
00:55 How many know sometimes during the middle of the week,
00:57 you need some of us Monday.
00:59 By midday tomorrow, we need a little refill.
01:03 And so every Wednesday, Change Worship,
01:07 drops Worship on Wednesday at Change Church YouTube.
01:09 We want you to be a part of that.
01:11 Mark chapter four, verse number 35 says,
01:13 "That day when evening came, he said to his disciples,
01:16 "let us go over to the other side.
01:19 "Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along,
01:22 "just as he was in the boat.
01:24 "There were also other boats with him.
01:26 "A furious squall came up and the waves broke over the boat
01:31 "so that it was nearly swamped.
01:33 "Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.
01:36 "The disciples woke him and said to him,
01:37 "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?
01:41 "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves,
01:43 "Quiet, be still.
01:45 "Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
01:49 "And he said to his disciples, why are you so afraid?
01:53 "Do you still have no faith?"
01:57 I wanna stop the reading of scripture right there.
01:59 Can I have your permission?
02:01 You didn't go to the game, so you're already here.
02:05 Can I have your permission?
02:06 I promise I won't keep you long, but can I take my time?
02:09 Other two servants, I think, cleared a lot.
02:12 Can I take my time here?
02:15 All right, we got work to do today
02:16 and I promise I wanna stay within my time,
02:18 but I don't need to take my time.
02:20 So I wanna stop the reading of scripture.
02:22 I wanna tag this title of the text.
02:23 I wanna talk from this subject and our time together.
02:25 Can you stand the rain?
02:27 Clap your hands if you're ready for God's word.
02:31 Can you,
02:32 can you stand the rain?
02:36 On December the 13th, 1988, new edition,
02:44 which is one of the most impactful, influential,
02:52 and electrifying groups of all time.
02:55 A group that had some ambidextrous acumen that was unique.
03:02 Some groups dance, other groups sing.
03:09 New edition did both.
03:11 And one of their most successful songs
03:16 was a song entitled, "Can You Stand the Rain?"
03:21 Yes, sir, yes, sir.
03:23 (audience laughing)
03:26 And one of the stanzas of that song is sermon worthy
03:35 because it aligns with scriptural truth.
03:41 And the stanza is as follows.
03:45 Sunny days.
03:47 (audience cheering)
03:50 Everybody loves them.
03:55 But tell me, can you stand the rain?
04:04 Storms will come.
04:06 (audience cheering)
04:15 This we know for sure.
04:18 But can you stand the rain?
04:25 And I believe this is more than a song
04:29 that new edition would sing.
04:31 This is actually a question that God would ask.
04:36 I know we are accustomed to people asking God questions.
04:41 But when you read the scripture,
04:43 you'll see that God asks people questions as well.
04:48 Come on.
04:50 You see, God doesn't ask questions to get an answer.
04:55 When God asks a question, he's trying to give one.
04:58 When God asks a question,
05:02 it's not because he needs to know something.
05:05 But when God asks a question,
05:08 it's because we need to know something
05:10 that we would know unless he asks a question
05:15 that caused us to do some interior examination
05:19 to come to a conclusion about a thing
05:22 we would have never come to a conclusion to
05:25 if he hadn't asked us the question.
05:27 In Genesis 18, he asked Abraham this question.
05:31 Is there anything too hard for God?
05:35 Come on and talk to me.
05:36 He is teaching Abraham something.
05:39 He knew the answer, but he asked Abraham this question
05:44 because Abraham needed to know what kind of questions
05:49 to ask when he found himself in quandaries
05:53 that seemed to be difficult to overcome
05:55 because the questions you ask
05:58 determine the conclusions you come to.
06:01 If you ask the wrong questions when you're in trouble,
06:04 you're gonna come to the wrong conclusions.
06:08 So Abraham and his wife were well past childbearing years
06:13 and God asked an old man who was married to an old woman,
06:19 is there anything too hard for God?
06:23 Because the conclusions you come to
06:25 are based on the questions you ask.
06:28 You see, if they would have asked the question,
06:30 can two people our age have a baby,
06:33 they would have come to one conclusion.
06:35 But if they ask the question,
06:37 is there anything too hard for God?
06:41 Then they come to another conclusion.
06:43 And some of our problem is not our situation.
06:47 Some of our problem is we've been asking the wrong questions
06:51 so we've been coming to the wrong conclusions.
06:54 We've been asking, can I recover from this?
06:57 When you need to be asking,
06:59 is there anything too hard for God?
07:01 We've been asking, can I do this without the net worth
07:05 and without the net work?
07:07 When we should be asking,
07:08 is there anything too hard for God?
07:11 We've been asking, can I do this
07:14 with the mistakes that I've made,
07:15 with the missteps that I've made
07:17 and with the time that I've wasted?
07:19 When we should be asking, is there anything too hard for God?
07:24 And just in case you don't know the answer to that question,
07:28 allow your pastor to help you come to the right conclusion.
07:32 There is nothing that is too hard for your God.
07:37 He'll open doors that no man can shut.
07:40 He'll close doors that no man can open.
07:43 When he's trying to get you somewhere, there's no risk.
07:47 See that can stop you.
07:48 There's no Jericho wall that can stop you.
07:51 When he's trying to get you in a room,
07:53 there's no crowd that can stop you.
07:56 A hater can be on the other side of the door
07:59 trying to barricade the door shut.
08:01 But when God wants you in a place,
08:03 he'll sneak you in through the window.
08:05 He'll drop you down from the roof.
08:11 Am I talking to anybody that can look back over your life
08:14 and there is evidence that God knows
08:18 how to get you in places that not only surprise other people,
08:22 it surprise you.
08:24 They looking at you and saying, how you get in here?
08:27 And you looking at God saying, how I get in here?
08:30 (audience laughing)
08:32 But what is impossible with man is possible with God.
08:37 It's one thing for us to ask God questions.
08:42 It's another thing for God to ask us questions.
08:46 When God asks us questions,
08:48 it's not because he needs an answer.
08:50 It's because we need to engage in some examination.
08:53 He asks Adam, Adam, where are you?
08:59 God knew where Adam was.
09:02 That's not why he asked the question.
09:04 But God needed Adam to know where Adam was.
09:15 So he asked the question, come on here.
09:19 He asked the question because he knows
09:22 the devil likes to deceive us about our destination.
09:25 And the devil deceives us into thinking
09:29 we're at a place we're not at.
09:32 'Cause we are not always where we think we are.
09:36 We're not always where we think we are spiritually.
09:39 We're not always where we think we are emotionally.
09:41 We're not always where we think we are relationally.
09:45 And what the enemy wants to do is he wants to dupe us
09:48 into being deceived that we're at a destination
09:51 that we're not because you will never chase the next level
09:55 if you think you already there.
09:57 (congregation cheering)
10:00 Have you ever been trying to help people
10:05 who can't see where they are?
10:07 It's one thing for us to ask God questions.
10:16 It's another thing for God to ask us questions.
10:20 In the gospel of Matthew chapter number nine,
10:22 the Bible says in verse 28,
10:24 I don't have time to bother this,
10:26 but it's the 1230, so yes, I do.
10:28 It says, "When he had gone indoors,"
10:32 do y'all see that?
10:34 "The blind man came to him."
10:36 Wait a minute.
10:37 When he had gone indoors, the blind man came to him.
10:45 Okay.
10:47 When he had gone indoors, the blind man came to him.
10:54 I don't know if the math is mathing for you.
10:57 In my mind, if they blind,
11:00 how can they see enough to follow you?
11:08 But maybe instead of being crippled by what wasn't working,
11:13 they leaned on what was working.
11:21 They said, "I could sit here because my eyes aren't working,
11:25 "but my ears work and my legs work."
11:29 So instead of complaining about what isn't working,
11:33 I'm going to use what is working,
11:37 because if I don't have it,
11:39 I don't need it to get what God's got for me.
11:43 If you don't have your eyes, use your legs.
11:45 Come on.
11:46 If you don't have your legs, use your arms.
11:49 God can get it done with what you've got.
11:52 They follow him inside and he asked them a question.
12:00 "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
12:07 He asked them a question.
12:14 "Do you believe I'm able to do this?"
12:16 Now, he didn't ask them that question
12:19 because he needed an answer.
12:21 He asked them that question 'cause they needed an answer.
12:24 They needed to examine not how big their faith was.
12:28 They had faith.
12:29 They were walking by faith, not by sight.
12:32 They couldn't see.
12:40 So they had faith.
12:41 Watch this.
12:42 But what Jesus was attempting to do
12:45 is to broaden their faith.
12:47 So he asked them a question.
12:49 He said, "Do you believe I'm able to do this?"
12:53 Okay.
12:54 Because the question is not how big is your faith.
13:01 It's how broad is your faith.
13:02 So when we talk about God stretching your faith,
13:05 it's not always stretching your faith in one area.
13:09 It's stretching your faith over into another area
13:12 because just because you believed he could do that
13:15 doesn't mean you believe he can do this.
13:18 And some of you are in a this season
13:21 and you're trying to manage it with that faith.
13:24 And God's like, "That faith is not what you need
13:28 "for this season."
13:29 So I got you in a situation where I'm stretching you
13:33 and said, "I brought you out in 2020
13:35 "and I helped you in 2021 and I made a way in 2022.
13:40 "But now that we're in 2023,
13:44 "do you believe I am able to do this?"
13:47 (audience cheering)
13:50 I got to go, but the text says that they said, "Yes, Lord."
13:55 - Wait a minute.
13:58 - They said, "Yes, Lord."
14:06 (audience cheering)
14:09 They called him Lord.
14:18 When you see the word Lord in English in the Bible,
14:24 the Lord is my shepherd.
14:27 That is a transliteration, not translation,
14:31 a transliteration of the word Jehovah.
14:35 (audience cheering)
14:38 They're saying what Jehovah was in the Old Testament
14:44 is personified in you in the New Testament.
14:47 So all that he was is all that you are.
14:51 And so because you're Lord, I believe.
14:54 If you were just my creator, I don't know.
14:56 But because you're Jehovah,
14:59 this means you are a covenant, that's his covenant name.
15:01 You are a covenant keeping God.
15:04 And because you are a covenant keeping God,
15:07 I believe you're able to be whatever I need you to be,
15:12 whenever I need you to be.
15:16 Because when Moses asked you to tell him what name,
15:21 that he is to go to the children of Israel,
15:24 when he's, what he is to use
15:25 when he goes to the children of Israel
15:26 and say that you sent him, you told him to say, "I am."
15:29 You told him to say, "Jehovah."
15:31 You told him, "I am what?"
15:33 "I am that I am.
15:35 I will be who I will be."
15:36 Right now, all you need is Jehovah.
15:39 That's all you need because Jehovah is like the prefix.
15:42 Something's gonna come after the Jehovah.
15:45 But I'm gonna need to be so much to you.
15:48 Right now, I'm just gonna give you Jehovah.
15:51 And then when you're in a season where you got lack,
15:54 I'm gonna show you I'm Jaira.
15:56 And when you're in a season where you need peace,
15:58 I'm gonna show you I'm Shalom.
16:00 When you're in a season where you feel alone,
16:02 I'm gonna show you I'm Shama.
16:04 And when you're in a season where you need healing,
16:07 I'm gonna show you I'm Rafa.
16:08 (audience cheering)
16:11 Yes, Lord.
16:15 Can I heal you?
16:16 Yes, Lord.
16:17 Can I deliver you?
16:18 Yes, Lord.
16:19 Can I make a way?
16:20 Yes, Lord.
16:21 I got 19 minutes, y'all all right?
16:28 You told me I could take my time.
16:30 (audience cheering)
16:33 Yes, Lord.
16:35 Listen to me.
16:36 Because the strength of your faith
16:38 is tied to the credibility of the character
16:42 of the person you put it in.
16:44 Two people can tell you the same thing.
16:51 You believe one and not believe the other
16:55 'cause it's not the word, it's the character.
16:57 (audience cheering)
17:00 They use the same words,
17:02 but one has a track record of keeping their word.
17:05 One has a track record of saying,
17:08 "When I'm gonna show up, they show up."
17:10 And God wants you to know I keep my word.
17:15 (audience cheering)
17:18 'Cause the strength of your faith
17:20 is based on the credibility of who you put it in.
17:22 It's one thing for us to ask God questions.
17:25 It's another thing for God to ask us questions.
17:29 He gets to a point in his journey with his disciples.
17:33 See, I got time.
17:36 I was about to say I don't have time.
17:37 I got time today 'cause here it is.
17:41 Here it is, y'all.
17:42 Here it is.
17:43 Don't miss this.
17:45 He gets to a point in his journey with his disciples.
17:51 Disciple means apprentice.
17:53 It means student.
17:54 It means mentee.
17:55 He gets to a point in his journey with them that he stops.
17:58 He says, "All right, we've been chilling together,
17:59 "serving together."
18:01 He says, "Now, who do men say that I am?"
18:03 (audience laughing)
18:05 'Cause I know you heard stuff.
18:07 I wanna know what you heard.
18:11 And they start saying, "Well, some say you're this person,
18:13 "some say you're that person,
18:14 "some say you're the other person."
18:16 But then he looked at them and he said,
18:17 "Okay, now cool, who do you?"
18:19 (audience cheering)
18:22 He said, "Because we have come as far as we can go
18:27 "with there being ambiguity in your eyes about my value."
18:32 I need a church.
18:36 Did you hear what I just said?
18:40 How long are you gonna keep walking with people
18:43 who can't see who you are?
18:45 How long, y'all aren't talking to me,
18:48 how many more miracles are you gonna have to perform
18:53 for people to see the value that you,
18:56 y'all been together that long, y'all been friends that long,
19:00 y'all been connected that long,
19:01 and you still having to prove your loyalty to them,
19:06 y'all aren't talking to me.
19:08 Who do you say I am?
19:10 (audience cheering)
19:13 Who do you say that I am?
19:17 This is not about arrogance, it's about awareness.
19:19 Because what you don't value, you can't steward.
19:24 What you don't value, you can't steward.
19:35 If you know a painting is a rare and valuable piece of art,
19:41 you treat it that way.
19:44 (audience cheering)
19:47 I wrote a whole book on this.
19:51 Everybody is equally valuable in the eyes of God,
19:54 but everybody doesn't add equal value to you.
19:59 Y'all aren't talking to me today,
20:03 and you need discernment to know
20:07 who is God using to add unique value,
20:11 because unique relationships should be stewarded uniquely.
20:14 Now, some people's pride and their arrogance
20:25 makes them ignorant.
20:26 So they will hear what I said,
20:32 and their arrogance becomes a filter for their interpretation
20:36 and they start saying, I heard you,
20:37 they start saying things on the inside of them.
20:41 They start saying things internally.
20:43 I ain't running behind nobody.
20:44 They put their pants on one leg at a time just like me.
20:49 Now, realizing and recognizing that you don't get to choose
20:58 who God sends to add value to you,
21:01 and if you reject the package,
21:04 God's not obligated to send it again.
21:07 (audience cheering)
21:09 You're not talking to me.
21:11 And some of your problem is this,
21:15 God can't send you uncommon relationships
21:18 because you keep treating uncommon relationship
21:22 in common ways.
21:24 (audience cheering)
21:27 I need a church that is willing to upset the devil
21:32 because your neighbor's getting
21:34 a mental breakthrough right now.
21:36 I need somebody to praise God for your role,
21:40 for your section.
21:42 Somebody's getting a mental breakthrough right here.
21:47 (audience cheering)
21:50 It is not arrogance to set a standard
21:59 regarding how you will be handled.
22:03 (audience cheering)
22:06 And a refusal to set a standard
22:13 regarding how you will be handled
22:15 is an indication that you don't have
22:17 a revelation of your value.
22:19 (audience cheering)
22:22 My wife and I went through something last week.
22:29 We had a deal pushed back
22:30 and we were going out on date night
22:33 and I was quiet and she can tell when something's off.
22:36 She say, "What's wrong?"
22:37 I say, "I'm mad."
22:39 She said, "You're mad?"
22:41 I say, "Yeah, this was God's gift to me."
22:43 Felt like Drake, I said, "I needed that."
22:48 I'm a King's kid.
22:54 I don't like anybody else having a say
22:57 in what I can have and when I can have it.
23:00 (audience cheering)
23:02 I say, "They just woke up a monster."
23:04 They just woke up something on the inside of me.
23:08 You don't get to tell me what I can have,
23:11 when I can have it.
23:12 He gets to tell me what I can have, when I can have it.
23:16 I'm a King's kid.
23:17 I'm gonna teach you.
23:18 I don't know how you treat everybody else.
23:21 I'm gonna teach you how to treat us.
23:27 I know who I belong to.
23:29 (audience cheering)
23:32 Who do you say that I am?
23:48 Jesus said, "We gotta get to a point in this journey
23:51 where I need to know that your view of me is so solid,
23:56 it's not changed when you get around people
23:58 who view me differently."
23:59 I need to know that your revelation of me
24:06 is so anchored in truth,
24:08 that when people start saying things about me
24:10 that's not true, you not moved by that.
24:13 Did y'all hear what I just said?
24:25 'Cause it's one thing for us to ask God questions.
24:29 It's another thing for God to ask us questions.
24:33 And there's a question we looked at,
24:37 did God ask Abraham?
24:38 There's a question that Jesus asked the blind man.
24:41 There's a question that Jesus asked the disciples.
24:42 There's a question that God, the Father,
24:44 asked Adam in the garden of Eden.
24:45 But there's a question that I think God will ask any of us
24:49 whenever we ask him for any kind of advancement,
24:54 any kind of elevation,
24:56 and any kind of personal evolution.
24:59 He said, "If you wanna experience advancement,
25:02 moving forward.
25:03 If you wanna experience elevation, moving higher.
25:06 If you wanna experience evolution,
25:08 becoming a different version of yourself."
25:10 God's like, "When you ask me for that,
25:13 I'm gonna ask you a question.
25:15 And the question I'm gonna ask you
25:20 is can you stand the rain?"
25:22 (congregation cheering)
25:25 Did you hear what I just said?
25:31 Because you can't get advancement,
25:33 you can't get elevation,
25:35 and you can't get evolution without rain.
25:38 Rain, come on here.
25:40 Rain in the Bible can represent blessings,
25:44 but rain can also represent burdens.
25:46 It can represent unexpected inconveniences
25:49 that cause you to adjust your plans.
25:51 Y'all aren't talking to me.
25:55 Yeah, Pastor Mika had an entire women's event planned
25:58 with an experience outside in the parking lot yesterday
26:01 in New Jersey that had to be adjusted because of rain.
26:05 Can you stand under planning things
26:11 and preparing for things
26:13 and expecting things to go a certain way,
26:15 and then all of a sudden,
26:17 something that you can't control happens?
26:20 Are you flexible enough?
26:22 Are you innovative enough?
26:24 Are you adaptable enough to say, "I'm still gonna do it.
26:27 I'm just gonna pull it from the outside on the inside."
26:30 Devil, you ain't stopping a thing.
26:33 Out, y'all not talking to me in here.
26:35 That's our problem.
26:36 Some of us quit too easy
26:40 because you don't understand you got access
26:43 to an anointing of innovation.
26:45 (congregation cheering)
26:49 Two fish in five loaves feeding multitudes,
26:52 that's innovation.
26:53 I don't know who this is for, but here's your word.
26:55 I need you to receive it prophetically.
26:58 Innovate.
26:59 Innovate.
27:04 Innovate.
27:05 Stop waiting on the blueprint.
27:06 Become one.
27:07 Innovate.
27:15 He's gonna ask, "Can you stand the rain?"
27:17 I want evolution.
27:19 I want to be a better version of me.
27:21 That mean rain.
27:25 'Cause some people are in love
27:29 with the inferior version of you.
27:32 See, just 'cause you don't like this version of you,
27:38 doesn't mean everybody else don't like it.
27:40 I feel, okay, yes.
27:43 Yes, okay.
27:45 (laughs)
27:47 Just because you don't like this current version of you,
27:52 doesn't mean other people dislike
27:54 this current version of you.
27:55 Some people love a version of you that you can't stand.
27:59 We just finished talking about standards.
28:05 Some people like it that your standard's low.
28:08 'Cause they don't have to be accountable for their behavior.
28:13 They can just keep using and misusing you.
28:16 They can just keep taking you for granted
28:19 and know that they're never gonna hear anything about it.
28:22 When you change, some of your conversation does.
28:35 And conversation creates connection.
28:38 So now it becomes difficult to connect
28:42 'cause I don't wanna talk about that no more.
28:44 You still wanna talk about that?
28:48 I don't wanna talk about that.
28:50 You don't wanna talk about making a difference?
28:52 You don't wanna talk about building a vision?
28:54 You don't wanna talk about getting some money?
28:56 What are we talking about?
28:58 When you change, your conversation's still.
29:11 (audience cheering)
29:14 That's what come with change.
29:17 Can you stand that rain?
29:19 I'm almost done in the text.
29:29 Our text in Mark chapter number four
29:32 is an incredible example of what I'm attempting to articulate.
29:35 This text reveals this principle.
29:36 On your way to elevation, advancement,
29:40 or evolution, you're going to run into some rain.
29:44 It's right here in Mark chapter four.
29:47 We're introduced to this encounter
29:50 that Jesus has with his disciples.
29:52 And he tells his disciples,
29:54 after he had just finished a time of teaching,
29:56 let's go to the other side.
29:58 Now this statement here offers some insight
30:01 about the nature of divine instruction.
30:03 What do you mean, Darius?
30:05 I mean, what Jesus says and the way he says it
30:08 is a template for the way God's gonna say
30:12 a lot of things to us.
30:13 The way Jesus leads them in this passage
30:16 is the way God the Father or God the Holy Spirit
30:19 is going to lead you and me.
30:22 Y'all with me?
30:23 Here it is.
30:23 Here's the nature of the instruction.
30:25 It is specific and vague at the same time.
30:30 (congregation cheering)
30:33 He says, let us go to the other side.
30:43 But he doesn't tell them what the other side is.
30:46 The other side can mean a number of different things.
30:49 He just says, let us go to the other side.
30:52 And here's the issue.
30:53 The disciples had enough faith to move on the specific
30:57 and wait on clarity for the vague.
31:01 And sometimes people won't move
31:04 because they need clarity on the vague
31:06 before they act on the specific.
31:08 And God's like, I need you to trust me enough
31:12 to move on what I told you
31:14 and trust that when you need the next set of instructions,
31:18 I'm going to release that instruction when you need it.
31:23 So instead of bugging out about what you don't know,
31:27 you got to lean on what you do know
31:30 'cause you know enough to get started.
31:33 You know enough to get moving.
31:35 You know enough to get going.
31:38 And I promise you,
31:39 God doesn't give information incompletely,
31:46 but he does give it incrementally.
31:48 He says, I give information on a need to know basis,
31:56 not a want to know basis.
31:58 Sometimes you want to know where you're going
32:06 before you leave.
32:07 But sometimes I make you leave before I tell you
32:13 where you're going.
32:16 I got Bible.
32:17 In Genesis chapter 12, verse one,
32:20 the Lord said to Abram, leave your country,
32:25 your people and your father's household.
32:28 Okay, where I'm going?
32:29 To a land I'll show you.
32:31 Come on, am I preaching the book?
32:36 I said, am I preaching the book?
32:38 He gets very specific, country, people, household.
32:43 Then he get vague.
32:45 I'm going to show you.
32:46 You got to be willing to move on the country,
32:55 people, household, and not stay stuck
32:59 because of the I'm going to show you.
33:01 There's a story in the New Testament
33:07 where Peter and the disciples were on this boat
33:10 and Jesus is walking on the water
33:12 and Peter sees Jesus walking on the water.
33:13 He said, hey, if that's you, Jesus,
33:15 tell me to come out to you on the water.
33:17 And Jesus said, come.
33:18 Peter didn't walk on water.
33:22 He walked on the word.
33:24 (congregation cheering)
33:26 He didn't move till he got a word.
33:28 He didn't get out of that boat until he got a word,
33:31 but he was willing to go on the come.
33:34 He didn't get any explanation.
33:37 He didn't get any commentary.
33:39 Jesus didn't say come
33:40 and I'm going to make the water like a sidewalk.
33:42 He didn't say come and I'm going to suspend gravity.
33:45 He didn't say come, if you fall,
33:47 I'm going to pick you up and walk you back to the boat.
33:49 He said, come.
33:50 And some of you are waiting on him to say something else.
33:53 And he's like, I said enough for you
33:54 to get out of the boat.
33:55 I said enough for you to bust the move.
33:59 I said enough for you to get it started.
34:01 You got to go on a come.
34:03 So he tells the disciples, let's go to the other side.
34:11 And text says this in verse 36.
34:14 It says, leaving the crowd behind.
34:18 Let me drink my water.
34:22 (congregation laughing)
34:25 Leaving the crowd behind.
34:33 I just need to know, am I preaching the book?
34:41 Leaving the crowd,
34:45 leaving the crowd behind.
34:50 (congregation chattering)
34:54 It's about to get a little tight.
35:07 'Cause here's the thing.
35:10 He had just finished teaching to masses of people.
35:16 That was a message.
35:19 But then he gives a word
35:22 that didn't apply to the many.
35:24 It applied to the few.
35:25 And the disciples had to have enough discernment
35:32 to know that every word is not for everybody.
35:36 And that there are some people you can't take with you
35:43 because he didn't say to them what he said to you.
35:48 Leaving the crowd behind means this.
35:51 It means that sometimes following divine instruction
35:54 will expose your codependency on the need for company
35:58 for you to operate in obedience.
36:00 Did you hear what I just said?
36:05 Yeah, there's nothing wrong with wanting and needing company
36:08 but there is something wrong
36:10 with having a codependent relationship on people
36:13 that your obedience to God is predicated
36:16 on whether or not somebody else
36:18 is walking the same path you walk.
36:21 You got to be willing to move on the word God gave you
36:25 and not try to force other people
36:27 into obeying something he didn't say to them.
36:30 That's tough.
36:35 But you gotta catch this.
36:40 If not, you'll try to drag people to places
36:42 they don't have a word for.
36:43 (crowd cheering)
36:46 And if they don't get their word on the shore,
36:50 they won't be able to handle the storm.
36:52 'Cause the only way you stay steady in the storm
36:56 is because of the word you got on the shore.
36:58 There's been times where there are a number of things
37:04 I would have quit in the middle
37:05 if he hadn't told me what he told me on the shore.
37:08 So many times I said, but God told me to come.
37:14 And it doesn't make sense, but I know he told me to come.
37:17 And this is not working out, but I know he told me to come.
37:20 And I don't like this part of it,
37:22 but I know he told me to come.
37:23 And I really don't have to take this,
37:25 but I know he told me to come.
37:27 And if he's the one that told me to come,
37:31 he's the one that's gotta give me permission to leave.
37:34 The same one that gave me instruction for the entrance
37:38 is the same one that has to give me permission for the exit.
37:42 Y'all tired, let's go.
37:44 Leaving the crowd behind.
37:49 There were some places Jesus took the 12.
37:53 Then there were other places Jesus took the three.
37:56 And then there were other places he took no one.
37:59 He went into the innermost part of the garden by himself.
38:10 'Cause everybody can't go
38:14 because everybody didn't hear what you heard.
38:17 So they get on this ship, I'm done.
38:22 They get on this ship and they run into a storm.
38:26 Now this was crazy.
38:30 What's interesting is this.
38:32 They run into a storm because they did what God said.
38:36 (crowd shouting)
38:39 They weren't disobedient.
38:47 They were obedient and they ran into a storm.
38:52 They're doing the right thing
38:55 and still running into a storm.
38:57 Now I'm not saying they were comparing,
39:00 but they were also, they were probably observing.
39:03 I'm not comparing.
39:05 I'm just observing.
39:07 And they're probably observing other boats
39:09 that don't even have Jesus in they boat.
39:12 And they boat is not going through.
39:15 Is there anybody here that's honest enough to say,
39:21 I'm not comparing, I'm just observing.
39:23 There are some people that don't love him
39:25 and it don't seem like they're going through a storm.
39:27 They're not worshiping him.
39:33 I'm not comparing, I'm just observing.
39:35 You do the right thing and you run into a storm.
39:47 And the water, the Bible says the storm produces waves.
39:53 Everybody say waves.
39:54 - Waves.
39:55 - And that's what storms produce, waves.
39:57 Waves of emotion.
39:58 Up, down.
40:02 Up, down.
40:04 And now the waves start taking over the boat.
40:06 'Cause the storm is producing waves.
40:11 Has a storm ever produced some waves in your life?
40:18 The storm comes, now relationships are up, down.
40:23 Storm comes, health was up, down.
40:27 Storm comes, money was up, down.
40:31 The waves, the wind is creating the waves.
40:36 And so much so that the waves that were outside the boat
40:41 start getting in it.
40:42 I'm done.
40:46 I said, the waves outside the boat start getting in it.
40:50 It was like, I'm managing the storm okay for a season.
40:55 I'm not drowning in what I'm in.
41:00 (congregation murmurs)
41:02 I'm in it, but I'm not drowning in it.
41:04 But if these waves keep on coming,
41:10 I don't know how much longer
41:12 I can keep my head above water, pastor.
41:16 I'm tired of the waves, pastor.
41:22 I'm tired of a turbulent sea, pastor.
41:29 (congregation murmurs)
41:31 Jesus, can I have a season called steady?
41:35 (congregation murmurs)
41:39 And I'm talking to somebody right now
41:45 who's so tired of riding the waves,
41:48 and now the waves are getting in your boat.
41:51 The waves are drowning your joy.
41:57 The waves are drowning your focus.
41:59 It's hard to stay focused.
42:00 The waves are drowning your peace.
42:03 And while all of this is happening,
42:07 Jesus, the Bible says, is on the stern of the boat,
42:11 on a cushion, sleep.
42:15 And the disciples interpret his inactivity one way.
42:24 They say, don't you care that we're perishing?
42:27 They're saying, now, if you care for me
42:29 the way that you say that you do, you be doing something.
42:32 And just because Jesus wasn't doing
42:39 what they thought they needed,
42:40 doesn't mean Jesus wasn't doing what was needed.
42:43 They felt like they needed relief,
42:48 and Jesus is like, there's no way
42:50 I'm gonna let this storm kill you.
42:52 Why?
42:54 Because the only reason you in it
42:55 is because you obeyed me.
42:56 So I have to take responsibility for the situation you in.
43:05 Did you hear what I just said?
43:08 Obedience doesn't mean we avoid adversity.
43:11 Obedience to God means God will take responsibility
43:15 for our welfare in the midst of adversity
43:18 we encounter because we obeyed him.
43:21 It doesn't mean you don't go in the fiery furnace
43:23 like the Hebrew boys,
43:24 but it means God says, I'm gonna take responsibility
43:28 to make sure you come out
43:29 and you don't even smell like smoke.
43:31 It doesn't mean you don't go in the lion's den like Daniel,
43:34 but God says, I'm gonna take responsibility for you
43:37 and make sure you come out whole.
43:39 It doesn't mean you don't go in the grave like Jesus,
43:42 but God says, if I put you in there,
43:46 I will get you out.
43:48 (congregation cheering)
43:51 They thought they needed relief,
43:56 but what they needed was a revelation.
44:00 He said, I'm sleeping in the storm
44:01 to teach you how to handle your next one.
44:03 You only have authority over the storm.
44:11 You don't have authority over the storm you avoid.
44:14 You have authority over the storm you can sleep in.
44:16 (congregation cheering)
44:20 It means that when disruption comes to your life,
44:25 you don't handle disruption in a way
44:27 that creates more disruption.
44:29 Jesus sleeping in the storm is teaching them
44:32 how to manage a problem in a way
44:34 that doesn't create other problems.
44:36 'Cause the way you manage a problem
44:39 can determine whether or not you create new ones.
44:41 Are y'all ready for this?
44:46 He's teaching them how to not overreact.
44:51 Don't look at them, but just say it
44:55 so that your row can hear it.
44:57 Calm down.
44:58 Come down, don't overreact.
45:02 The enemy wants you to act impulsively, come down.
45:04 Come down, 'cause this storm doesn't make sense
45:14 in chapter four, but when you get to chapter five,
45:17 you'll see as soon as they get to the other side,
45:20 Jesus steps out of the boat,
45:21 and a man who had been hanging out in a cemetery,
45:25 cutting himself with sharp stones.
45:27 It's a metaphor for engaging in self-destructive behavior
45:30 and hanging around dead people
45:32 who can't bring you back to life.
45:34 'Cause it doesn't have to be a graveyard
45:42 for it to be a cemetery.
45:44 And as soon as they step on the other side,
45:54 this man comes and Jesus sets this man free.
45:57 This is what the storm was all about.
46:00 He wanted to send the storm to intimidate them
46:03 to the degree that they adjusted their plans
46:07 and did not get to the other side
46:09 where there was an assignment that they were to fulfill.
46:13 The storm isn't just about you.
46:19 The storm is to deter you
46:22 from how God wants to use you.
46:26 But because you, I don't even have time to deal with this,
46:33 but because you don't see what you carry,
46:35 the warfare don't make sense to you.
46:38 (congregation cheering)
46:42 The warfare you're under is evidence
46:49 that the devil has more faith in you than you do.
46:51 He says, "I know what they carry
46:59 "and I can't let them get to the other side."
47:01 But you've got to stand the rain.
47:08 You can't avoid it.
47:09 It's inconvenient.
47:12 It's uncomfortable.
47:14 It makes you have to change plans.
47:17 It's agitating.
47:18 But you can't avoid the rain.
47:22 So I gotta know how to stand in it.
47:27 You need to know three things.
47:30 You need to know the difference
47:31 between being safe and comfortable.
47:33 God promised to keep you safe, not comfortable.
47:38 And just because you're uncomfortable
47:40 doesn't mean you're unsafe.
47:41 Just because you're under a threat
47:44 doesn't mean you're in danger.
47:46 No weapon
47:51 formed against you shall prosper.
47:56 Number two, understand that endurance is essential.
47:59 I got this revelation this week,
48:00 the difference between endurance and patience.
48:01 Patience deals with how you wait and if you wait.
48:04 Endurance deals with how you walk.
48:07 And sometimes you not only need patience to wait,
48:10 you need endurance to keep walking.
48:11 To keep moving forward.
48:16 To keep growing.
48:19 And last but not least,
48:21 you gotta embrace the principle of persistence.
48:24 It's not just enough to do the right thing.
48:28 Am I making sense?
48:31 You gotta do the right thing long enough
48:33 until it works.
48:37 (congregation cheering)
48:40 And we gotta go, but I know you're tired.
48:45 You're like, "Pastor, I've been in this sea so long."
48:49 And I hear you talking about endurance,
48:53 but I'm so tired.
48:54 And I hear you talking about persistence,
48:58 but I'm so tired.
48:59 How long is it gonna rain?
49:03 (congregation cheering)
49:07 Pastor, I feel like I'm in a rain season.
49:10 And I just need a season called steady.
49:15 The Bible says this,
49:20 when Jesus woke up, I can imagine he yawned,
49:23 stretched.
49:25 The Bible says he rebuked the wind
49:28 and told the waves, "Be quiet."
49:31 (congregation gasping)
49:35 It speaks to his sovereignty
49:38 when it comes to the area of timing.
49:40 It means that when he get ready
49:42 for the weather to change,
49:45 it will.
49:47 Come on.
49:50 When he gets ready for the weather to change,
49:54 the weather has no choice but to change.
50:01 In the meantime,
50:02 you just gotta stand the rain.
50:05 Wait on the, I gotta, we got to go.
50:13 But I would have feigned it
50:16 unless I believed to see
50:20 the goodness of the Lord
50:22 in the land of the women.
50:26 Wait on the Lord
50:27 and be of good courage
50:30 and he will
50:32 strengthen
50:33 the heart.
50:35 Wait, I say,
50:37 on the Lord.
50:39 I'm gonna pray this prayer of blessing
50:44 and benediction over you.
50:46 And I know each week, some of you listen to me pray.
50:49 I need you to do more than listen to me pray.
50:51 I need you to agree with me in faith
50:55 that as I pray this over you,
51:00 you believe this for yourself,
51:03 that you receive this
51:06 by faith.
51:07 Because just because God offers it
51:15 doesn't mean you automatically receive it.
51:17 He offers the world salvation,
51:21 but you have to receive it.
51:24 So I want you to receive this.
51:27 Amen?
51:30 So Father, I pray for the grace
51:33 to stand in the storm.
51:35 I pray for grace
51:38 to ride
51:40 this season of waves.
51:43 I pray for strength
51:44 for the journey.
51:47 May it be said of our strength,
51:50 as it was said of the children of Israel,
51:53 when you gave them shoes
51:55 that did not wear out in the wilderness,
51:57 we will not wear down.
52:00 We receive this.
52:02 Now may you bless us and keep us.
52:05 May you cause your face a favor to shine upon us.
52:08 May you be gracious and generous to us.
52:11 May you protect us.
52:12 May you provide for us.
52:14 And above all else, may you grant us peace.
52:16 This is my prayer for your life.
52:19 In Jesus' name, amen.
52:22 Look at me, I love you.
52:23 I'll see you next week.
52:25 God bless.
52:27 ♪ When you're gone ♪
52:32 ♪ He will renew your day ♪