Even The Winds Obey Him (September 19, 2021)

good morning harvest time thank you so much for joining us today let's worship jesus together [Music] this is the day [Music] now your joy awaits [Music] my give thanks for all you have done i will see your mercy lord i am [Music] here i thanks [Music] is is and as we lift our hands is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] i can't thank you [Music] so [Music] [Music] awesome [Music] you've seen what you can do oh god of [Music] things you've done before [Music] move [Music] [Music] is [Music] death is overcome you've already won god [Music] oh [Music] things are possible [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] come awake in this city oh god of revival pour it out pour it out every stronghold will crumble i hear [Music] people come away every stronghold oh my i'm [Music] every stronghold my already [Music] cheese worship you jesus [Music] [Music] oh father everlasting thee you're creating [Music] through your holy spirit conceiving christ the son jesus our savior with hands lifted i believe in god our father i believe in christ the son i believe in the holy spirit our god is three and one i believe in the resurrection that we will rise again i believe in the name of jesus [Music] forgiveness glorious forever is [Music] that we will rise again of forever [Music] that jesus christ [Music] is is this voice is lifted up i believe in god our father i believe in christ the son i believe in the holy spirit our god is [Music] jesus i believe in god our father i believe in christ [Music] that we can love and worship you this morning you're a triune god and we love you father let's take a moment to greet each other this morning [Music] hey everyone welcome to harvest time church we're so glad to have you here with us our new semester of life groups kicked off last week and it's not too late to join here at htc we believe that life groups are a great way to grow your relationship with jesus and grow in your relationship with others head on over to the connect desk or visit our groups page at htchurch.com to find the right life group for you for all the parents to avoid the kids check-in lines head on over to realm to pre-check your kids and fast track the check-in process to stay connected in the life of our church scan the qr code on the screen to sign up for a realm count if you have any questions about realm head over to the connect desk after the service we love you church and hope you have a great week good morning harvest time church how you all doing come on i think we could do better than that it's a beautiful morning in september good morning church how y'all doing welcome to harvest time if this is your first time welcome to church we honor uh we're honored to have you all here there are a lot of things that you could be doing on a sunday morning but the fact that you are in the house of god what a great way to start your week can i get an amen in here if you're uh it's your first or second time welcome thank you for uh being here uh for all of those that are watching us online thank you so much for tuning in online we have the most faithful online community in the world as it relates to church and i know that that's a drastic statement i just threw the world in with it which means obviously when you're the world champ you're the world champ regardless if you play the world or not it's like world champion super bowl teams good morning harvest time church are we alive this morning we can have fun in church we can smile we can laugh god is on the throne god is good we are in a good place i want to let you know one thing this morning that uh the we have just kicked off semester three of life groups and we are moving into our second week but that means it's the perfect time for you to join if you are not a part of a life group we would encourage you as a church that is a great way to grow in your relationship with jesus and grow in your relationship with others we have 37 life groups which means this there is a life group for you so there's no reason to think that there isn't one we have young adults crew we've got uh men's groups women's group co-ed groups we've got a group related to eating dinner and having food we've got bible studies you name it there's a place for you if you want to find out more information about that head back to our connect desk or you can head to htchurch.com backslash groups and find a group but we would love to make sure that you get connected and answer any questions that you have if you want to find out more about youth ministries going on on wednesday night if you want to find out about kids ministry on wednesday i love this time of church because there is something pretty much every night of the week happening and no reason for you to just come in on a sunday and head home and not feel like you can't connect and be a part of a great christian community and growing in your relationship with jesus after this service you can head to the connect desk we'd love to talk with you get you signed up but uh we are going to be collecting an offering right now and uh for your first first second time church feel no obligation to give this is really an opportunity for those of us to call harvest time our home church and uh we are not going to be passing a container due to social distancing and cdc regulations but uh there's still easy ways that you can give you can give through this envelope that is going to be in your program you can also give through text which is really easy or if you're watching us online one of the cool things you can click on that link in the chat and that is a safe and easy way to give but i want to encourage you with the scripture in philippians it says and my god will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in christ jesus can i get an amen just on that verse alone you know i love that jesus that god he is our supplier you know what happens when we tend to believe that we're the supplier we go from trusting god to be a provider to becoming a hoarder and i don't think that any of us in here wants to be known as a hoarder but can we all in this moment just agree that we don't have to hold on too tightly to anything because god is the one who gives it in the first place and that we can trust that god will provide more than we ever could ask think or imagine as it relates to our family as it relates to our finances as it relates to our dreams as it relates to everything that is going on so let's be a church that is generous because god is our provider can i get an amen again uh i'm gonna pray and then we're gonna continue on with this service amen jesus we love you lord we thank you for everything that you're doing lord i pray that you would just remind us that you are our provider that we don't have to worry lord that we don't have to hold on too tightly we don't need to be a hoarder in fact we need to live with an open-handed generosity because if you can get it in our hand and we can get it through us lord then you can just put more in and more in and more in knowing that we can be trusted to continue to be a blessing lord i pray for everybody that is in here lord open up supernatural windows in heaven a blessing in their life and in their businesses and in their families lord i pray for everything that is brought in lord do more than we ever could have asked thank or imagine lord touch more lives than we ever thought possible god we love you in the name of jesus we pray amen while you do that once you turn your attentions to the screen [Music] [Music] from the moment that i wake up until i lay my head i'm missing of the goodness of god [Music] with every breath that i am [Music] [Music] so good of the goodness [Music] [Applause] you stand would you stand as we honor our pastors pastors glenn and pastor denise and celebrate 25 years in ministry would you come up [Applause] so [Applause] [Applause] and she speaks for all of us i'm sure so you know what we're doing now you probably all saw the emails and we're here to honor pastor glenn and denise for 25 years of ministry service [Laughter] i'd like to start with a couple of scriptures having to do with pastor glenn's ministry and uh i'm just going to read those to you first one is from jeremiah 3 15 and it says then i will give you shepherds after my own heart who will lead you with knowledge and understanding the second one is from ephesians 4 11 and it talks about the the gift of all the fivefold ministry but specifically we're talking about pastors and teachers today and how that is a gift to us as a church pastor glenn and denise are a gift to us and the last scripture i want to read to you is from 2 timothy 4 2. it says preach the word in season and out rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction they told the first service that i think that god has outdone himself for us with pastor glenn and denise [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] it's interesting getting up here and speaking the same thing again fortunately most of you haven't heard this but uh i feel like i'm plagiarizing my first anyway um you know years ago we had a music minister in the church his name was nelson miranda i was good friends with nelson my wife and i were good friends with the mirandas and they were in in the ministry here at harvest time and as glenn and denise came and took uh the assistant pastor pastor and uh it wasn't but a few months after that that nelson decided to move on to another uh church and uh one of the last things he told me he said make sure to get to know pastor glenn because he's a great guy and he sure is he um he exemplifies the role of a pastor and today as we honor him i just want to mention a few different things regarding the harvestons and today sorry losing my train of thought pastor glenn and denise they work hard at what they do he they always have and i i have to tell you that uh and he'll tell you in fact i think he says it in the sermon today that he spends hours preparing his messages each week you know it's not that's a big deal and he because he cares so much about us that's why he does it and the word is clear in uh in the scripture the ephesians 4 11 that the gifts are for our benefit and so he they're a great gift to us because he takes his job seriously and you have to there's us another scripture that tells us that pastors uh and and those who uh rule well are worthy of double honor and certainly he is worthy of that those who rule well it talks about those who serve well those who run things well as well as preaching and teaching and pastor glenn every week comes and gives us the word we get fed we're blessed beyond measure because it gets better every week and he did all of this and in between those times he built this building and that building that's no small thing and we're we're so glad pastor glenn that you uh take your job seriously uh i don't know how you do it you know he they uh are just like you and i in many ways those of us who have families we know what it's like to uh the ins and outs of everyday life most of the time things are okay sometimes they're not sometimes they're really not okay and uh you know a pastor doesn't have the luxury of saying i feel lousy today i'm not going to work uh it's and and not not only that he has to not let it show either and so so he he he does his job well and i have to say that i doubt that he could have done it without denise um uh none of us men who are married could be where we are today without our wives denise is a she's a go-getter she's a no-nonsense kind of person she uh she sees something that needs doing and she gets it done and she has a gigantic heart for people and for all of us i'm getting there sorry you know the the uh the assembly of god says that uh the pastors in in our denomination generally have a tenure of anywhere between four and 10 or 11 years and probably it's on the lower side of that in most cases so we're so blessed to have a pastor who has spent 24 or so of his 25 years in ministry here for us i think that's great and that's worthy about praise [Applause] [Applause] you know the scripture that i mentioned before uh talks about uh pastors and teachers uh being worthy of double honor the other side of that is that they're doubly accountable before god they have their own families and all of us to be concerned about and when pastor glenn tells tells you all that he prays every week for you and that the staff prays for you every week us they do they they do he's a man of his word he he is a good example and uh we just honor you pastor glenn today and i'm gonna leave you with uh one more scripture and this one's for us it's not for pastor glenn it's from hebrews 13 17 and it says it tells us to have confidence in your leaders and to submit to their authority because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account so there's the accountability uh issue and it goes on to say do this so that their work will be a joy and not a burden for that would be of no benefit to you so he's telling us uh do what you can for for our pastors because it benefits you isn't that just like god you know give and it will be given unto you so you know i just want you to you know like pastor glenn he says i want you to give your best harvest time welcome to our guest speakers that he brings i'd like you to do that right now and honor them [Applause] [Laughter] you're the best you're the best he really is the best uh i just want to remind you pastor blaise is going to come and uh lead us in a little bit of prayer over pastor glenn and denise before we move on in the service pastor glenn has a great message again today and he needs his time so we're going to do that but i want to leave you with one thought about the the uh worthy of a double honor thing uh i looked up description tried to find as much information about it as you can and there isn't a whole lot there unless they start getting off on certain subjects but it really tells us to honor the office and honor the the man and the woman uh who rule well who do what they say they're gonna do and i i also believe and it actually says in scripture that it it talks about uh doubly honoring them uh in a in a provision or financial way so after the service today we're going to have a time to meet meet pastor glenn to talk to pastor glenn and have cupcakes and coffee and all that other stuff but when you do that remember that today remember those two things when you speak to them and bring them uh near greetings thank you pastor glenn and denise we love you would you would you do me a favor and exchange your hand we're gonna pray for pastors glenn and denise and as a team if you guys want to come around board team just lay your hands on them father we thank you for pastors glenn and denise lord we thank you for placing the call in their heart lord but we thank you that you would allow them to answer that call and to do it so beautifully lord we pray that the next 25 would surpass the previous 25 lord you are not done with them you continue to fill their lungs with oxygen you continue to open their eyes which means you have not finished with them so god we pray that you would just continue to mark their steps lord we pray for holy spirit supernatural wind at their back lord we pray for wisdom and discernment as they lead us forward as they lead harvest time forward we pray that you would do supernatural things through this ministry that you've called them to build lord we pray for people to come in and lord support them in everything that they do lord support them with their time support them with the heart behind why and where we're going and what it is that you're doing so father we pray that this would just be 25 years of abundance to come 25 years of amazing and that we would look back and just be marvel at what it is that you've done father we thank you bless their family bless their children bless the things that you have called them to lord open up supernatural windows over their marriage over their kids over the visions and dreams that you've placed in their heart lord that you would birth new ideas lord i pray for wisdom as they lead our church forward lord that they would go to sleep and wake up refreshed and excited with visions as to where you are taking us and working through them father we are so blessed and honored to have a man of god and a woman of god at the helm lord so pray that you would just anoint them and bless them twice as much as we could have ever prayed for or asked god we love you and as a church we all stand united grateful thankful and in unity lord in unity commands a blessing so bless them and bless us in the process in the name of jesus we all shouted amen amen [Applause] i just hear the lord saying it's there's been a time for silver but now it's time for gold i just hear the lord saying that we as a church this region struck gold when this couple came but now it's a time of gold for you i don't know exactly all that it entails but i hear him saying that you are to lift your eyes up to the hills from there your help comes your vision has been far and wide and reaching but there's a greater stretching farther vision that your eyes and your heart will be able to go there's new revelation coming and you have dug you have poured out you have been digging here in this town in this region in these people you have been pouring out your heart but now it's time for you to strike gold in the name of jesus gold will come forth it will shine forth in this church your ministry has a greater far-reaching effect i thank you lord that we have struck gold in this season with this couple i thank you lord that you loved this region so much that you set them apart for such a time as this lord they have poured out they have mined for silver but now is a time for gold and i pray lord that your revelation your you would open their eyes to greater ability to see they already can see they can already hear but i pray lord as they lift their eyes to a greater horizon to a greater distance that you will show them everything you have for them show them your gold for them father in jesus name amen god bless you thank you so much everybody you may be seated thank you to our board of deacons and trustees and thank you to our staff and and to all of you for honoring us that way um just as a point of information uncle brian we have been here for 25 years we've been in the ministry for 30 but you know hasn't felt a day over 40. so if you have your bibles whoever said if you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life that person was a dummy so we love what we do but it's been a little bit of work matthew chapter eight we're gonna go to work right now i have a word to share with you from the lord are you ready to receive it matthew 8 gonna start reading in verse 18 i want to talk to you about even the winds obey him while you find your way to matthew chapter 8 i just want to say a word about our worship schedule because some people have been inquiring prior to covid we were meeting in two worship services and then we were shut down when we reopened we went to three worship services just to make extra room for social distancing right now we're in two worship services in the early worship service we run at about 25 capacity in this worship service we run at about 50 actually a little less than 50 capacity so we're gonna stay where we're at with two worship services at nine and ten thirty and uh as we're just going to keep making it up as we go along all right so i don't know about you but with covet i wake up literally every morning and i say okay lord what's it going to be today so just be patient with us and we're going to stay at 9 and 10 30 for the time being and we'll we'll figure it out as we we progress along all right matthew chapter 8 going to start reading in verse 18. the bible says when jesus saw the crowd around him he gave orders i want you to underline that if you have your paper bible he gave orders your bible might say he commanded to cross to the other side of the lake then a teacher of the law came to him and said teacher i'll follow you wherever you go jesus replied foxes have dens and birds have nests but the son of man has no place to lay his head another disciple said to him lord first let me go bury my father but jesus told him follow me and let the dead bury their own dead then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him notice those words suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake so that the waves swept over the boat but jesus was sleeping actually that is in continuous tense in the greek he was sleeping and sleeping and sleeping the disciples went and woke him saying lord save us we're going to drown he replied you of little faith why are you so afraid then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves and look what matthew reports and it was completely calm if you have your paper bible underline those words completely calm the men were amazed and they said what kind of man is this even the winds and the waves obey him i want to talk about storms for a few minutes a few weeks ago while denise and i and the girls were visiting in dallas area we were preparing for a storm here in the new york city area that never happened on re and then about two weeks after that ida showed up on our doorstep and we really weren't prepared for her 60 people and the new york city area perished and a staggering damage estimate of 50 billion dollars in property damage storms are like that aren't they you brace yourself for one storm and perhaps it's not as bad as you thought it would be and then an unexpected storm comes and it's catastrophic in the year 2000 a group of us from htc made a pilgrimage to israel we tried to take a group last year in 2020 but a storm called covid came along and changed those plans maybe we'll get to go someday i hope we do but our year 2000 group had a last minute addition a woman named renata who was only very recently widowed she was the co-worker of one of our htc members and at the last minute she decided to join our trip in a boat on the sea of galilee i shared briefly about how unexpected storms come our way in life but jesus is there to give us peace and as we're not to listen tears started coming down out of her eyes and on a boat in the sea of galilee she prayed a prayer of believing on jesus for the very first time in her life later that same day a very young jonathan naylor and i had the privilege of baptizing her in the jordan river i keep a collection of pictures in my office that were taken on great days across the years they encouraged me on some of the days that aren't so great and this is one of the pictures in my collection renata's baptism let's talk about unexpected storms i especially want to speak to someone who is perhaps in a storm right now maybe here in the sanctuary maybe you're joining us by live stream where is god in your storm why is he silent why hasn't he come to your rescue god wants you to know that he didn't send the storm but he intends to use the storm for your good and for his glory god wants to use the storm to help your faith in jesus grow bigger first of all god wants to give you insight into your storm he wants to help you see the spiritual nature of your storm on your way in you received a program and in your program there's uh outline of today's sermon and if you like you can listen watch the screens fill in the blanks follow along god wants to help you see the spiritual nature of your storm at the height of the storm jesus tells the disciples that their faith needs to grow he tells them their faith is too little why thank you for that incisive observation jesus you are not helping of my favorite commentators d.a carson writes this about jesus words in the storm little faith listen this is good right here little faith is the failure to see beyond the mere surface of things that's good right there see it turns out that there was more to this storm than just wind and waves this was no ordinary storm this storm was spiritual in nature it was an assignment from the enemy sent to thwart the divine mission of jesus and his twelve and to take them out i believe god wants to speak to somebody today he wants to help you grow in your faith to see beyond the surface of things how can we tell when our storm is spiritual in nature for one thing there's the timing of the storm squalls are very common on the sea of galilee here in the u.s different parts of our country are known to be prone to certain kind of weather phenomena if you live in the gulf of mexico you can expect hurricanes in hurricane season denise and i lived in the midwest in what is called tornado alley the sea of galilee was squall valley the sea of galilee sits in a big bowl surrounded by mountains and all day long in the heat the thermal currents rise from the lake and they clash with the cold air from the mountains and they make the atmosphere ripe for pop-up storms we have the very same thing around here in the summertime when it's hot and humid and the sun just warms up the atmosphere and makes it ripe for late afternoon thunder showers we had some of those this summer but the squalls on the sea of galilee they were mostly daytime events it was placid at night which is why the fishermen fished at night you remember when jesus first met peter peter said lord we have fished all night and we haven't caught anything this squall came at the wrong time and is it any coincidence that jesus and his disciples were embarking on a divine mission to go deliver two souls held captive by demons storms are a normal part of life for all of us but sometimes there's more to our storm than just wind and waves one indication that your storm might be spiritual is the timing has the storm come at a time when there ought to be peace more importantly has the storm come at a time when you're just beginning to be used by god in new ways has the storm come at a time when you're just really beginning to make strides in your relationship with christ has the storm come at a time when god is beginning to use you in new ministries that you've never been used in before has the storm come to knock you off course has it come to thwart your god-given assignment has the storm come to take you down before you win big victories for the kingdom of christ and take away ground from the enemy may god give you insight into your storm how can we tell if the storm is spiritual along with timing there's the terror and the tenacity of the storm listen listen peter and andrew james and john thomas nathanael these men were not novices they grew up on the water they made their livelihood on the water they knew how to handle their boat in a squall but there was something different about this storm saint luke calls it a hurricane of wind saint mark calls it a windstorm of wind saint matthew who was actually there in the boat uses the word seismic to describe the impact of the storm and this storm didn't let up squalls can be very intense but we know they pass quite quickly this squall parked right over them and battered the boat until these hardened veteran galilean fishermen despaired for their lives they really thought they weren't going to make it have you ever been there have you ever been in a storm that is so ferocious and so tenacious that you really begin to think god we might not make it out of this how can we tell if our storm is spiritual in nature most of all by the temptation of the storm the temptation to doubt god's love for us the temptation to doubt that he cares inexplicably in the stern of the boat jesus is sleeping on a seat cushion jesus was and he is fully god in a body of human flesh now glorified flesh but as he walked the earth jesus experienced hunger he experienced thirst he experienced cold and heat and he experienced physical weariness we know that jesus slept but interestingly this is the only place in all of the gospels that it portrays jesus asleep on a boat in a ferocious storm in the translation to english the drama of the moment is lost just a little bit all of these greek verbs are continuous that describe the scene the wind is howling and howling the waves are rolling and rolling the boat is being battered and battered to the point that it is almost swamped and jesus jesus keeps sleeping and sleeping and sleeping i don't know about you but i think the first wave of cold water that washed over me i would have sat up out of my sleep may i tell you this somebody listen god is not rocked by the storms on earth that rock us god cares that we are rocked he truly does but he is not rocked somebody listened to me god is not up in his heaven wringing his hands over who is in the white house or over who is not in the white house and over how it all went down [Laughter] god is not wringing his hands over anything in our headlines he is in complete control at the height of the storm the disciples are incredulous with jesus saint mark records peter's memory of that night they said lord don't you care if we drown how can you tell if your storm is spiritual in nature it's when the storm tempts you to doubt god's love for you it's when the storm tempts you to doubt that he cares that you're important to him it's when the storm tempts you to doubt that he's willing to help you it's when the storm tests your faith to the breaking point that's when you know this is a spiritual battle this is spiritual warfare god wants to give you insight into your storm but he doesn't leave you there god wants to show you the supernatural solution to your storm the supernatural solution listen to me somebody hear me the solution to your storm is more faith in jesus now you've got to love this the wind is howling the waves are rolling the boat is being battered it's filling up with water the disciples are crying out in despair for their very lives like death could come at any moment and jesus sits up and he begins to lecture them about faith please notice with me that before jesus speaks to the storm he speaks into the hearts of those he loves somebody please hear me from a very broken place you've been asking god why the storm but before god speaks to your storm he wants to speak into your heart the enemy of your soul sent the storm to break you but jesus plans to build you the enemy sent the storm to delay you and distract you but jesus wants to propel you and accelerate you the enemy sent the storm to take you down but jesus plans to lift you up from faith to faith from strength to strength and from glory to glory at the height of your storm jesus wants to give you more faith in his plans and purposes for you the boat is about to sink and jesus says guys you know what the problem is here your faith is too little i'm sorry what lord how how is this helpful right now at the height of the storm listen they forgot that jesus had gotten into the boat first and they followed him at the height of the storm they forgot that jesus wasn't a passenger in their boat they were crewmen in his boat he is the captain at the height of the storm they forgot that jesus had ordered them to cross the lake the other side of the lake was his destination this crossing was his mission and therefore this storm was his storm to handle it was his problem that's good right there listen listen i i pray you catch this i pray i pray you can grab hold of it and understand jesus was not with them in the storm they were with jesus in the storm sometimes in the language of receiving salvation we're a little bit imprecise and it gives perhaps the wrong impression we we talk with you about inviting christ we invite christ into our life when in reality salvation is the moment when christ invites us into his life and we accept his invitation we he is not a passenger in my boat i am a crewman in his boat beloved somebody listen to me jesus is not an accessory to your life he is not an auxiliary source of help when you get yourself in hot water he is not your backup plan he is not your backup generator he is not your backup sump pump he is not your guardian angel either he is lord of all or he is not lord at all that's good right there so matthew's account is oddly interrupted by two would-be disciples when they hear that jesus is about to set sail they want to go in the boat too but jesus turns them away flatly saint john writes that jesus knows what's in the heart of every person and he doesn't entrust his mission to just anyone jesus answers both men and his answers mean you really don't want to get in this boat with me you really don't want to go where this boat is headed where demonized pagans keep pigs you really don't want to weather the stormy seas that this boat is headed into it's going to be a rough ride you would rather stay here safe on the shore you are not yet committed enough to go on this mission at the height of the storm jesus wants our faith to grow in his plans and purposes for our lives he is not my passenger i am his crewman on his mission and no matter how big the storm his call on my life is bigger yet no matter how ferocious and tenacious the storm his love for me is fiercer and more tenacious yet at the height of the storm may god enlarge our faith to believe that we are safe in his hands and nothing nothing nothing can happen to us that is outside of his loving plans at the height of the storm may god enlarge our faith to believe that we are way too valuable to him and the people that he's already destined for us to reach for him are way too valuable for him to let this storm take us out i have a question from the holy spirit for somebody today will you say yes to his boat trip even if you know it means a rough ride ahead will you say yes to his mission will you say yes to his destination even if you know it means traversing a storm on the horizon so we've been through a bit of a storm with our number one son ben haven't said much about it publicly because someday ben is going to stand right here and he's going to give his testimony he's going to tell his own story in his own words and give glory to god but this storm has been ferocious and tenacious and at the height of it i really thought at times we weren't going to make it in fact two times in the last two years i wrote to my superintendent and my presbyter and i told them i don't think we're going to make it at the height of the storm i i never once doubted god's love for me or our family but i sure wondered why god allowed it only god knows the sacrifices that he's called denise and i to make to build his church this church lord we've literally given up everything to follow you by this storm by my son my only so we couldn't have kids we prayed and we asked god and he supernaturally sent us twins one of them was my son the way i prepare for preaching is all week long i i fill up my spirit with the word of god and then i just let it percolate until god gives me what i called the download as we were worshiping this last friday evening at fire in the night it clicked in my spirit jesus i have made up my mind i want to go in the boat with you even if it means sailing into storms i would rather be with jesus out in a storm than be safe on the shore without him i just feel like we need to make a confession of faith together jesus this is your boat this is your mission and this is your storm would you say that with me i want you to say it nice and loud say jesus this is your boat this is your mission and this is your storm come on this is your boat this is your mission this is your storm you're not in the storm with me i'm in this storm with you the solution to your storm is more faith at the height of your storm jesus wants to give you more faith in his promises at the height of the storm they forgot that jesus never once said we're going under jesus said we're going over he never said we're going down to a watery grave he said we're going over to gadara to see some men about some pigs he never said we're gonna die he said we're gonna go over there and do some deliverance ministry he never said we're gonna be swamped he said surely when the mighty waters rise they will not reach you for you are my hiding place you protect me from trouble you surround me with songs of deliverance your counsel watches over me and your unfailing love surrounds me jesus never said we're gonna drown he said fear not for i am with you i have redeemed you and called you by name and when you walked through the waters i will be with you the flood will not overwhelm you it doesn't say the flood will never touch you it says the flood will not overwhelm you come on in jesus name the flood will not overwhelm you at the height of the storm he never said you're on your own now i've lost interest i've stopped caring he said nothing at all of creation will ever ever be able to separate me from his love he said i will never leave you i will never forsake you see i am with you all days the solution to your storm is more faith you doing all right i'm done i'm i'm coming down the home stretch right now at ya at the height of the storm jesus wants to give you more faith in his power aren't you so thankful that god answers our prayers beyond the measure of our faith sometimes we pray and we we only have this this much faith but god answers our our prayers far and above and beyond the measure of faith that we prayed with i don't know exactly what the disciples were expecting jesus to do when they woke him up but it's pretty clear from their reaction that he wasn't that they weren't expecting him to do what he did maybe they they thought jesus would help bail water maybe they thought he would help pull it the yours he was a very strong guy he was a stone mason he was pretty good at praying maybe they thought he would pray for god to give them more strength to get through the storm see when our faith is too little our prayers are too little we're like that dad who pleaded with jesus for his son lord do something if you can listen i think small-sized prayers insult god sometimes saint paul wrote that we need help from the holy spirit in prayer because we don't even know what we should ask for jesus is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we could ask or even imagine he can do things we have never seen him do before he can do things we never thought of he can do things we never dreamed about or imagine right now we're trying to refinance our church mortgage at a lower interest rate and i hope it happens but i got to tell you the truth i'm tired of begging around for lower interest rates on our debt i would rather just ask god to help us clear the whole thing out of the way i got ministry to do i don't have time to work on refinancing mortgages i want to go do ministry lord take this burden off of us so we can do more of your work jesus stood up and he rebuked the storm with one word still matthew who was there reports that instantly everything became completely calm i want to say that with me even with a i don't know philly missouri new york accent i don't even know what my accent is anymore but i want you to say it with me completely calm come on say it completely calm if you have spent any time on the water you know that that doesn't happen swells on the sea of galilee can reach as much as 10 feet waters don't just go from ten feet swells to instantly placid but they did at the command of jesus you see he's not just captain of the boat he is master of the seas matthew reports that they were all amazed i looked up that word in greek it means they were freaked out suddenly they were more afraid of jesus than they had been of the storm somebody listened to me if we only feared the lord more we might fear the storm less come on that's a tweetable line right there maybe if we if we feared the lord maybe if we had reference for him maybe if we're worried about what he thinks maybe if we worried about offending him instead of worrying about offending everybody else maybe if we feared him more we would fear the storms less at the height of the storm their faith grew in jesus power and at the height of our storm our faith will grow too pastor nick come help me finish if you would at the height of our storm with our son ben this past february i was on a highway in oklahoma in the most treacherous ice storm of my entire life listen i'm not a wimp i went to college in maine i lived in the midwest for six years i know about those ice storms i know how to drive in ice and snow and i want to tell you it was the most treacherous scene i have ever been in in my life i thought you know jesus you know what would just really be a cherry on top of this whole thing would be to wreck a rental car i went to rescue our son from some very very bad trouble maybe you heard on the news about the terrible chain reaction accident on i-35 in fort worth 133 cars and trucks six lives were lost i passed through that exact spot on that exact same day in that exact same storm i have to tell you the truth when i finally did get home to connecticut i sat in my office for two and a half months and i legitimately had like ptsd i was legitimately like shell-shocked from the events of that weekend people have been sending me little notes all this year saying pastor glenn we've been listening to you for a long time and your sermons are better than ever you have no idea the cost at which they've come but at the height of that ice storm i called denise and i said you have to pray you got to get your women to pray and she got her her circle of prayer warriors on it praying and i'll tell you what god did god sent this is my testimony i'm telling you this is what happened god sent a wind he sent a literal physical wind and it dried up all the ice it was 14 degrees and the wind dried the ice right off the road and we were able to get where we needed to go and get our son the help that he needed at that time that was just one of one of four absolute miracles god did for us in about a 48 hour period of time someday we'll share the whole story with you but at the height of the storm here's what i learned about his power even the winds obey him would you stand on your feet and give jesus the king of kings and lord of lords a great big praise in this place today oh come on don't give him a wimpy little praise give him a great big praise today hallelujah we love you jesus we worship you lord [Music] pastor nick and i have been on this journey together for 25 years he was here at harvest time before we were for a long period of years that pastor nick was leading worship and i was preaching we called it the glenn and nick show and so one more time we brought back the glenn and nick show [Music] jesus spoke one word over the storm still and i asked pastor nick to sing a song you might know it it's called still i want to invite you to lift up your face of the lord lift up your hands if you're in the middle of a storm i feel so strongly for someone at home watching on live stream listen just do it right there at home lift up your face to the lord lift up your hands and i want you to receive jesus word still come on let's listen sing along everyone within [Music] is soul father you are the flu you i got find rest in christ [Music] when the oceans rise when the oceans rise [Music] come on would you give the lord one more good grace in this place today [Music] lift up your faces lift up your hands to the lord in the name of jesus christ of nazareth receive the word of the lord still in jesus name i say still to every assignment of the enemy sent against you to delay dishearten endanger and destroy you in the name of jesus i say still to the storm of cancer in the name of jesus i say still to the storm of that mysterious illness that has the doctors scratching their heads i say still to lupus i say still to fibromyalgia i say still to julian barr syndrome in jesus name i say still to every degenerative neurological condition and every degenerative condition of the nervous system and spine in jesus name i say still to bloodborne illnesses i say still to lyme disease in every condition that presents itself with lyme like symptoms but can't be identified in the name of jesus christ of nazareth i say still to the storm of abandonment by your spouse father in the name of jesus we pray for husbands and wives who have lost their minds we pray that you'd snap out of the demonic fog that has overtaken them and we pray you deliver them and restore them to their right minds in jesus name i say still to the storm of abandonment by father or mother i say still to the storm of betrayal i say still to the storm of being misrepresented and lied about i say still to the storm of abusive relationships i say still to the storm of harassment intimidation threatening and bullying either in the workplace or at school or in the neighborhood father send your mighty angels to protect your people in the name of jesus christ of nazareth i say still to the storm of addiction i say still to the storm of ruptured relationships between parents and children i say still to the storm of financial insolvency and indebtedness in the name of jesus christ of nazareth i break off every generational curse of poverty constant financial frustration and financial ruin i say still to the storm of joblessness i say still to the storm of infertility i say still to the storm of loss and grief i say still to anxiety still to insomnia come on i want you lift up your hands lift up your face and i want you to just say still still still still to the storm in jesus name come on sing it one more time find rest my soul in christ alone when the oceans rise lift up your voice oh [Music] rise [Music] over come on sing that line i will be still i will be still know you are god come on love the lord one more time would you and now may the lord bless you and keep you may the lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you may the lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace in the name of the father and of the son jesus the prince of peace and the holy spirit amen god bless you everybody let's go eat some cupcakes god be with you

Channel: Harvest Time Church

Views: 180

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Greenwich Connecticut, Glenn Harvison

Id: qd-qdLIzoIU

Length: 81min 50sec (4910 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 19 2021