(SDA Sermons) Mark Finley - "Getting Through Life’s Toughest Times" - 2019

Father as we open your word today we pray that you'd guide us. Open our hearts speak to us through your spirit as the text is read and exposed and exposited we pray that the very word of God inspired by the Spirit given by Jesus indicted by God would be with us today burning in our heart and changing our lives in Christ's name Amen. Every one of us in our lives sometime are gonna pass through stormy waters we are not yet standing on the sea of glass we are on storm-tossed seas and at times the waves are high and the winds are fierce in the night is dark now we don't know when the storm is going to come and we don't know the intensity of the storm how strong is going to be neither do we know how long the storm is going to last but we don't know this the storm is on its way now that need not fear it and its grip us with fear that need not frightened or terrify us because all the still although the storm is on its way we know the master of the wind in the waves now there's a wonderful story in the Gospel of Matthew that encourages us when we face stormy waters I invite you to take your Bibles and turn to Matthew the fourteenth chapter Matthew chapter fourteen and we're going to be studying this morning verses 22 to 23 as we look at this passage it's helpful to understand the background of the passage Jesus has preached all day and you find that in the earlier parts of Matthew chapter 14 and as Jesus has preached all day the hungry multitude cries out for food the disciples urged Jesus to dismiss the crowd and go so they can go and get something to eat Jesus takes five loaves and two fishes and multiplies them and feeds the 5,000 at this point Jesus is at the pinnacle of his popularity the crowd wants to make him King the crowd is urged on by the disciples who want a position of prominence in the New Kingdom Jesus recognizes that if he gives the crowd their wishes there will be revolution in Palestine they'll be bloodshed and death and so to prevent the crowd from rioting to push for him to be king Jesus quietly and commandingly dismisses the crowd the disciples linger the scripture in Matthew chapter 14 verse 22 says this and if you have your Bible and I hope you do here at living hope this is a Bible study hour we come not to hear the word of man but we come to hear the word of God and here in Matthew chapter 14 verse 22 it says immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side so Jesus gives an immediate command now we get a little nuance on this from John 6 because in John 6 verse 15 John's Gospel indicates that although Jesus gave an immediate command the disciples did not obey immediately John 6 and verse 15 the scripture says therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him King so you see what's going on here Jesus just multiplied the loaves and the fishes the disciples urged crowd on they say anybody that can work miracles like that can lead us against the Roman armies even if some of our soldiers are wounded Jesus can heal them even if we need food Jesus can multiply loaves and fishes he is our King so Jesus perceives that he departs to a mountain by himself alone now verse 16 is interesting when evening came his disciples went down to the sea so when you look at mark Matthew 14 it says Jesus immediately told them to go that was the end of the afternoon about 4 o'clock or so the son had not said the disciples lingered there they did not immediate immediately obey Christ's command and during the time they were lingering the storm on the Sea of Galilee was building had they gone immediately and obeyed Christ they would have avoided the storm when Jesus impresses your heart to do something do that thing for Christ because delay can be deadly when in your prayer life you pray and you're seeking God and the Lord impresses you to take a step in faith whatever that step is listen to the voice of God be sensitive to the voice of the Spirit Ellen White comments on this passage in desire of Ages page 379 and 380 and says this the disciples had not put off immediately from land as Jesus directed them they waited for a time hoping that he would come back they wanted him to come back they wanted him to reconsider becoming King I continued they had left Jesus with dissatisfied hearts they were more impatient with him than ever before they murmured because they had not been permitted to proclaim him King they blamed themselves for yielding so readily to his command they thought that Jesus if they would have tried to persuade him more would have allowed them to accomplish their purpose now their hesitancy to do what Christ said immediately their delay put them in a position where they would be right in the center of the storm their murmuring their complaining their unbelief their failure to see the miracle before their eyes of the breaking of the bread all of that led them into a storm where they would learn deeper lessons of faith had the disciples grasped the promises of God and saw him as Messiah and by faith launched out as he said they would have not had to face the greater storm God loves you so much that if you fail to learn the lessons of faith in the storms you are going through now in his gracious mercy and goodness he will allow you to go through greater storms in the future to teach you the lessons of faith that you failed to learn now I want to learn the lessons of faith that Jesus is teaching me now don't you I want to be a good student in the school of the Living Christ now notice what the Bible says about Jesus Matthew chapter 14 verse 23 the disciples delay the disciples hesitate the disciples have their own preconceived ideas of their future Matthew 14 verse 23 when he sent when he had sent the multitudes away he went up on the mountain by himself to pray and when evening had come he was alone there what was Jesus praying about what was on his heart what was in his mind that night Jesus were / was praying for his disciples his disciples were impatient his disciples were misinformed they longed for Christ to establish an earthly kingdom they desired they desired prominence they desired prestige that's what the disciples wanted they failed to understand that before honor comes humility before the throne comes the cross before sainthood comes servant to it before rising high we must bow low before we ever into the kingdom of heaven the kingdom of heaven must enter into our hearts before we ever walk through the gates of glory the Living Christ must walk through the guarded gates of our hearts the struggle for power the struggle for prestige the struggle for position is not merely a struggle that took place 2,000 years ago it takes place in families it takes place in businesses it even takes place in the church and it takes place in church board meetings but Jesus leads us to servanthood Jesus leads us to humility Jesus leads us to reach out in compassion to serve not to seek position not to seek honor not to seek prestige they delayed in following Christ's command hoping he would return and reconsider his refusal to become king while they waited a storm was brewing on a dark wind stripped the windswept sea that would test their faith to the limit delay at Christ's command I repeat places us in vulnerability to Christ's to greater temptations when we know what Christ wants us to do and fail to do it because of our own preconceived ideas and personal desires it's extremely dangerous they were on the sea Jesus was on the mountain notice Matthew chapter 24 of Matthew chapter 14 verse 24 Matthew 14 and we got to look there at verse 24 Jesus is alone on the mountain he's praying for them his disciples are on the stormy sea when you and I go through stormy seas the incredible good news is that Jesus is praying for us we are on his lips we are in his mind were on his heart the sea may be stormy but the one who is the commander of wind and sea and rain has us on his heart has us in his mind he's praying for us Matthew chapter 14 verse 24 notice Jesus is there verse 23 in the mountain alone but the boat was now in the middle of the sea tossed by waves for the wind was contrary now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them walking on the sea what time is the fourth watch of the night the Jews had divided the night into four watches sunset in Palestine was at six o'clock so from 6:00 to 9:00 at night is the first watch nine to twelve at night is the second watch 12 to 3 is the third watch three to six is the fourth watch so it's the fourth watch of the night it's someplace between three o'clock in the morning and six o'clock in the morning more likely about four o'clock in the morning it's the darkest part of the night the waves whip the way the wind whips the waves into fury the boat is being tossed upon the sea now it's very fascinating if they set sail in the evening at about six o'clock and if this is about four o'clock in the morning how many hours on the sea had they been traveling in toiling if they set sail about six and if this is three four o'clock in the morning how long had they been on the sea about about nine or ten hours how far had they traveled on the sea in that nine or ten hours well take your Bible keep it we're going to come back to Matthew 14 but take your Bible and turn back to John 6 because we'd have to guess the Bible tells us how long they had travelled during that period of time this becomes a very significant point now notice John the sixth chapter and we're looking there at verse nineteen so when they had rowed about three or four miles they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat so they had rowed about three or four miles the Sea of Galilee is about three to four miles across typically you could cross the Sea of Galilee in rowing that distance in no more than two and at most three hours so as they're going out on the sea they've been on the sea now 9 or 10 hours on a journey that should have taken them two or three hours the wind has blown them further south and so in the wind they're struggling they are rowing they could have made it across shortly but the wind blows them south they're no longer closer to the destination when they started they are weary they're tired they're exhausted they felt they could battle no longer now there are times in life where you battle and you battle and you battle and you say I'm so tired I'm so exhausted I can't fight any longer that's the way the disciples felt the storms rage all around us and sometimes we get so exhausted with the battle that we feel we cannot fight any longer but here is the incredible good news although they were out of sight of land they were not out of sight of Jesus although they could not see him he could see them where was Jesus during this time what was he doing during their intense struggle he was praying for them he was asking the Father to increase their strength to give them courage to go on Jesus knew what they did not know jesus knew the cross was coming jesus knew that the nails were coming through his hands jesus knew the ground thorns was coming upon his head Jesus knew that the Romans would crucify him he knew the fear that would seize the disciples heart jesus knew that a much greater storm was coming so he allowed them to go through that storm Jesus was preparing them for the storm in the future is there a storm coming in the future in our generation that is relentless in its fury is there another storm coming in our day could it be that Jesus lets us go through trials of faith today to strengthen the muscles of our faith to prepare us for the storm that is coming in the future I read in a book called reflecting Christ page 311 a storm is coming relentless in his fury are we prepared to meet it we need not say the perils of the last days are soon to come upon us already they have come we need now the sword of the Lord to cut too very soul and marrow a fleshly lusts of appetites and passions so sometimes God allows us to go through storms today sometimes the winds blow sometimes the rains fall to prepare us for the greater storms that are coming tomorrow the disciples saw the storm Jesus saw them their eyes were fixed upon the waves Jesus eyes were fixed upon them to the disciples everything seemed out of control but in the midst of the storms of life Jesus was still in control are you going through some storm he has not forsaken you in Heaven's sanctuary he's praying for you are you going through some storm you wonder where he is you cannot see him but he sees you in the storms of life he is there in Matthew chapter 14 verse 25 and 26 in our story the winds are are fierce the waves are high Jesus there in the midst of the storm sees his disciples Matthew 14 verse 25 and 26 the scripture says now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them walking on the sea and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were troubled saying it is a ghost and they cried out in fear now the word fear in verse 26 is a very very strong word in the English language it says they cried out in fear in the Greek language it says they were terrified they were terrified they were shaking with fear they were filled with anxiety they were terrified now here is the problem the disciples feared what they did not know you see they thought that what they saw was a ghost or an apparition belief in evil spirits was very common in 1st century Palestine the idea of ghost goblins and phantoms was widespread now these disciples had spent years with Jesus but yet in a time of fear their emotions overwhelmed them and they could not think rationally and they thought that this might be a phantom the unknown often creates fear when they see why are we afraid at times why does worry give us knots in our stomach why does worry give us headaches why does worry keep us from sleeping at night why does worry bring out anxiety there are two reasons why fear is fear see fear is an emotion that sweeps over us and there are two great reasons why we fear the first reason we fear is we fear the unknown we fear what might come for example what if I do have cancer what if I do have to go through chemotherapy what if I do have to go through a bone-marrow transplant what if I'm in the hospital for three months between life and death see what what if that lump under your arm is cancerous what if that heart problem requires quadruple bypass surgery what if that diabetic condition leads you to a diabetic coma see so we fear the unknown we project the worst in our mind let me give you another example of how fear plays havoc with our minds every wife will resonate with this it's 5:30 at night your husband typically is home from work if he's ever a lady call he's gonna call you somebody said mark you're not realistic it's 8 o'clock at night my husband's home from work not home alright whatever time is you choose the time don't let the preacher choose the time okay so let's suppose it's he's supposed to be home at 6:30 well compromise let's suppose he's supposed to be home at 6:30 he always calls you if he's going to be late 7:30 not home 8:30 not home no phone call how are you gonna feel as a woman if your husband has told you he's gonna be home at 6:30 for supper he always calls you if he's not and it's 8:30 you begin to project on your mind and on the window of your mind fear and you begin to think was he in a terrible accident is is is there some pile-up on the highway so you begin to project fear what about this illustration gentlemen your company is making severe cutbacks the economy has turned around and people are being laid off and you begin to think if I am laid off how can I make the mortgage payment how can I make the house payment in other words fear often with the unknown you have a teenage son he's 13 years old he's going on a camping trip with the church and you say call me when you get there he calls you when he gets there you say you know son just give me a call everyday let me know how things are going three days go by the fourth day goes by and you haven't heard from your son you begin to call the leader and the leaders cell phone is out how are you feeling as a mother if you've gone four days without hearing from your child you begin to fear then you read on the news that there's a terrible storm that has come in that area where they've been mountain climbing and that some school group has been caught in the midst of the storm and somebody has died what do you begin thinking is this my son is this our school group si fear of the unknown Griffis us now there's the second reason that we fear it's not only the unknown but it's the known see some of our fears never come to reality but some of our fears do come to reality what if there was an accident what if your boy was lost what if the disease is malignant so there are two great reasons for fear one we fear what might happen and we play the what-if game the second great reason for fear is the reality that what might happen has in fact happened but there is an answer to fear you see fear is an emotion faith is an attitude and focus is a choice fear is an emotion faith is an attitude and focus is a choice we fear the unknown or we fear the reality of the known faith does not deny the existence of a stormy sea faith believes that the Christ who is walking on the stormy sea will take my hand and get me through the store so faith rather than focusing on the waves and the what-ifs or the reality faith focuses on the one who has conquered conquered every storm the one who's calmed every sea the one who took Peter by the hand and took him through what is faith faith is trusting God as a friend well-known knowing that'll never do me any harm knowing that his strength is to get me through whatever I have to deal with that's what faith is so faith says I can face the unknown faith says I can face the deepest trials in life because my hand is in the hand of the Living Christ you know let me give you an example of faith another word for faith is trust that you have absolute trust in God no matter what happens in your life I'll need to go to for these treatments I was telling you about and I was talking to one of the owners of one of the clinics or I'm going to be and one of the treatments I'm going to do is a complementary treatment called a hyperbaric chamber treatment they use that to build up the immune system they used that to a strength in the bones etc it was typically originally used for divers who needed to decompress when they were coming back but they're using it now for amazing met they're getting amazing medical results with it and so here's what my friend told me now this hyperbaric chamber is about 31 inches wide it's about that wide and they put you in there and yet and it's closed in there's a little acrylic thing you can see out and they seal it and you're in there for an hour and so I said to my friend you know I don't know about this um I is a little cost or phobia you know when you're in that thing he said mark the problem is not claustrophobia the problem is trust and I said what do you mean he said here's the problem is when we put you in there it's impossible for you to get out no way you can't get out we put you in there and we lock that thing and you're in this chamber so he said it's not a matter of claustrophobia it's a matter of trust do you trust the person that put you in is going to get you out do you trust them because if you do not trust the person that put you in there it's gonna get you out you're gonna panic inside because you cannot get out on your own the storm you're going through you can't get out on your own what is faith faith is trusting the one who allowed the storm to come that he is going to take your hand and get you through that storm see fear is an emotion faith is an attitude of trust and focus is Durrett to place your confidence in the one whom you cannot see the Lord Jesus Christ who's going to get you through your storm though in the midst of the storm the the raging in the raging waves Peter cries out take your Bible Matthew 14 verse 28 Peter cries out and Peter said to him Lord verse 28 if it is you command me to come to you on the water and he said come he said come Peter did not allow his fears at this point overwhelm his faith so we lose focus faith leads us out of the boat faith leads us to walk on stormy seas with Jesus faith leads us to face the winds and the rains with our eyes fixed on the mast or the wind in the Lord of Heaven and Earth faith triumphs over fear faith overcomes the obstacles faith enables us to walk on the stormy seas have you ever noticed that many times in the Bible that Jesus has come Matthew 11 you remember Jesus has come unto me all you that do what are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you Jesus says in John 6 and verse 37 him that cometh to me Island no wise cast out and notice how the Bible ends with the invitation to come revelation chapter 22 there in the stormy waters of the Galilee Jesus says to Peter come step out of the boat take a leap in faith trust me Peter I'm not going to allow you to drown revelation ends with this marvelous passage in Revelation chapter 22 verse 17 and the spirit in the bride say what come and let him who hears say what come and let him who thirsts come in whoever desires let him take the water of life freely Jesus says come step out of the boat and Peter flings himself into the jaws of death in the face of the howling wind Peter does not allow his fears to paralyze him what are your greatest fears what are you greatest fears what do you worry about the most Christ is greater than our fears Christ is bigger than our doubts Christ is larger than our questions Christ invites us to come to him on the stormy seas of life when Peter kept his eyes focused upon Jesus he walked on the water but something happened to Peter in what happened to Peter often happens to us faith led him out of the boat but in the midst of the storm Peter lost focus let's go back Matthew 14 verse 30 in the midst of the storm Peter focus when Peter kept his eye fixed upon Christ and His Word and his power he walked on water when he focused on the waves and the treachery that the treacherous situation he was in he sank you see we either look at our difficulties from an earthly perspective with our human reason in weakness or we look through the eyes of faith at the promises of God Matthew 14 and you looking there at verse 30 see at first Peter was looking at Jesus his fear gave way to faith and his faith led him to focus but here he loses his perspective he loses his focus verse 30 but when he saw the wind was boisterous he was afraid and beginning to sink he cried out lord save me now notice Peter begins to sink beneath the waves when we're dominated by fear we sink and the sinking of our spirits is the result of the sinking of our faith did you get that when we are dominated by fear we begin to sink and the sinking of our spirits is the result of the sinking of our faith we fear when we forget now here are two amazing passages to ponder but can you say with me we fear when we forget together we fear when we forget once again we fear when we forget let me give you the biblical evidence of that Isaiah 51 Isaiah 51 we fear when we forget Isaiah the 51st chapter speaking of Israel and you're going to look there at verse 12 and 13 well we need to read verse 11 as well verse 11 12 and 13 of Isaiah 51 so the ransom to the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing with everlasting joy on their heads they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away that's focus its focus not on the waves it's focused not on the wind it's focused not on the darkness of the night it's focused not on the sickness its focus not on my fear notice what it says it says focusing on the day that the ransomed of the Lord come to Zion with singing and everlasting joy and sorrow and sighing flee away now verse 12 I even I am he who comforts you who are you that you should be afraid God says who are you that you shall be afraid of a man will die and if the Son of man will be made like grass in other words God says I'm holding you in my hand and the worst thing that can happen to you couldn't die but one day you're gonna walk on sea of glass one day you're gonna rejoice in Zion with singing then he says verse 13 and you forget the Lord your maker you're going through this stormy sea you're going through this difficult you're going through this trial you forget the Lord your maker he stretched out the heavens he laid the foundations of the earth you feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor when he's prepared to destroy you and where's the fury of the oppressor you see God says I'm your Creator I'm your maker rejoice rejoice second text Psalm 43 verse 5 let your fear give way to faith and unless faith bear in your heart a new focus the focus on the Lord the master of the land and the sea eyes Psalm 43 verse 5 notice what scripture says and remember when you lose focus you begin to sink and the sinking of your spirits is because the sinking of your faith Psalm 43 verse 5 David raises this question why are you cast down on my oh my soul in other words why you so discouraged why is so depressed why is so filled with fear why you cast doubt on my soul and why are you disquieted within me wait you're so anxious why are you troubled hope in God for I shall yet praise Him the help of my countenance and my god when Peter began to sink beneath the stormy sea there's only one thing that saved him it was not his skill as an experienced fisherman that saved him it was not his knowledge of the Sea of Galilee that saved him it was not his wisdom in solving problems that saved him it was not his ability to swim back to the boat that saved him the Scriptures plane Matthew forty 14 verse 30 now you'll notice in the passage there are two cries there's the cry of fear in the cry of faith first there's the cry of fear in Matthew chapter 14 when they cry out in verse 26 they think it's a ghost and they cry out in fear but when you come to verse 30 when he saw him he saw that the wind was boisterous this Peter he was afraid and beginning to sink he's sinking beneath the waves the dark cold waters are pulling him down the waves are beginning to crash all around his body he's going under it's dark it's cold it's wet he cries out see the first cries to cry of fear second cries to cry of faith you can either cry out in fear you can cry out in faith if you cry out in fear you're gonna be troubled disappointed discouraged downhearted dejected if you cry out in faith your spirits will soar notice it says he cried out saying lord save me and then the scripture says no Matthew is writing this from a first-hand experience Matthew was a witness to what was happening Matthew's sitting in the boat and any seeing this scene play out before him now he doesn't write it when he's in the boat his parchment would have got a little wet he writes it later but Matthews in that boat and and this is not something that Matthew was told it is something indeed that Matthew experienced notice what it says verse 31 and immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and he said to him oh you of little faith why do you doubt I love it immediately Jesus stretched out his hand caught him when Peter cried out Jesus immediately responded Jesus is there in the storms of life he's there when the waves are high in the nights dark now Jesus cries out Peter cries out and Jesus reaches out Peter cries out Jesus reaches out when we cry out Jesus reaches out when we cry out in our weakness Jesus reaches out in his strength when we cry out in our frailty Jesus reaches out in his enduring night when we cry out in our utter inability to solve our problem Jesus reaches out we can have absolute confidence that Jesus never turns away from those who cry out in faith his arm is strong to hold us up turn to Psalm 20 verse 6 underline this one write it on a card memorize it you may not need it today but you're gonna need it tomorrow Psalm 20 verse you're looking there at Psalm 20 verse 6 now I know some 20 verse 6 that the Lord saves his anointed as a child of God are you one of the anointed of Jesus indeed you are now I know the Lord saves his anointed Psalm 20 verse 6 he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand some trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God verse 9 save may the king answer us when we when we call no did you notice what Jesus said to Peter though he said o you of what little faith some people look at that passage and they say Wow Oh Peter only had a little faith I say to you a little faith is better than no faith at all you see a little faith is better than no faith it reminds me of Jesus statement remember what Jesus said if you have faith as a grain of what mustard seed a mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds in Palestine when we exercise the little faith we have our faith in Christ's power to get us through the storms of life will grow into a mighty force that enables us to walk on stormy seas if you have faith of the grain of mustard seed you'll say to this mountain move this mountain a difficulty this mountain of problems this mountain of trouble you'll say move it it'll move see if you only have a little faith if your faith is really really small trust Jesus with the faith you have exercise the faith you have and when you exercise the faith you have that faith is going to grow and grow and grow notice this point Peter had enough faith to get out of the boat but he didn't have enough faith to get through the store Peter had enough faith to get out of the boat but he didn't have enough faith to get out and get through the storm Jesus often allows us to walk in the storms of life with the little faith we have to grow our faith do you think Peters faith grew that day do you think by going through this storm Peters faith was strengthened that day Jesus often allows the storms of life to blow upon us to increase our faith see if we would believe more we would doubt less can you say that with me if we believe more we doubt less again if we believe war we doubt less the business of faith is to resolve our doubts so we place confidence in Christ and Christ alone imagine this scene imagine this scene Peter and Jesus walking hand-in-hand on a calm moon would see with stars shining like diamonds in the sky Jesus has said peace be still Jesus has calmed the troubled scene he's calmed their troubled hearts Jesus is spoken and his Lord of land and sea and wind and rain the moon shines again the sea is like a sea of glass with not a ripple upon it and Jesus and Peter together hand-in-hand walk back to that boat the elements were out of control but Jesus was in control the boat was out of control but Jesus was in control the disciples emotions were out of control but Jesus was in control in spite of the devil's attacks Jesus is in control of your life in the safety and security of the boat look at what the disciples exclaimed last verse Matthew 14 verse 23 here it is faith has triumphed over the storms of life Jesus the Lord of wind and rain and sea has calmed the storm in the troubled hearts and in Matthew chapter 14 last verse in this passage verse 33 than those who are in the boat came and worshiped him saying truly you are the son of God what a day it had been for them they cry out truly you are the son of God within a 24-hour period they saw Jesus take five loaves and two fishes and multiply to feed 5000 if that doesn't amaze you I don't know what would within a 24-hour period they saw Jesus walking on the water if that doesn't amaze you I don't know what would within a 24-hour period they saw Jesus calm a storm on the Sea of Galilee if that doesn't amaze you I don't know what would in a 24-hour period they saw Jesus pull Peter up and walk back to the boot if that doesn't amaze you I don't know what would now there are three vital lessons in the story here they are number one Christ allows the storms of life to come to every one of us no human being living in the stormy waters of Earth will get from here to glory without going through a storm you're either going through a storm right now or you will go through one lesson one Christ allows the storms of life to come in order to strengthen our faith and reveal his power not to drown us God allows the storm Jesus allows the storms of life to come to strengthen our faith it reveals its power not to drown us number two Christ governs the intensity of the storm and the duration of the storm number three Christ reveals himself in the midst of the storm it's in the storms of life we see him most clearly we feel his presence most markedly and we experience his power most dramatically he sees us through the storms of life today so one day we can walk on the sea of glass with him tomorrow he leads us through the stormy seas to the sea of glass on eternity is peaceful shore in prophetic vision John sees another sea in prophetic vision John sees not stormy seas but God sees Revelation chapter 15 and John speaks about those those who've been through the storms of life today he speaks of those who go through Earth's last storm here is the incredible good news Jesus will take you through the storms of life today here's the incredible good news Jesus will guide you safely to heaven sure here's the incredible good news the Dragon will roar in the last days the Beast will threaten in the last days the false prophet will deceive in the last days but with Jesus one day will walk on to see a glass revelation the fifteenth chapter we're looking there at verse 2 and verse 3 and I saw something like to see of a glass no stormy seas here no winds blowing fiercely here no waves engulfing us here our little boat not crashing on the rocks here I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire and those who have victory over the Beast over His image over his mark and over the number of his name standing on the sea of glass having the harps of God seeing the victorious song of Moses and the servant in the song of the lamb saying great and marvelous are your works Lord God Almighty just and true are your ways when we stand on the sea of glass and look back over the stormy sea of life we will say just and true are your ways o Lord every storm I went through is worth it all the winds that I faced were worth it all the waves that I faced were worth it because now I'm standing on the sea of glass not eternity shore where the winds will no longer blow dan Crawford it was it's a successor to David Livingstone he spent 32 years of his life in Africa as a missionary he died of a terrible infection in the heart of Africa and he wrote in the Flyleaf of his Bible these words I have read them to you before I read them often his dying day he wrote these words in the Flyleaf of his Bible I cannot do it alone the waves - fast and high the fog in the mist set in the light goes out in the sky but I know in the end we too shall win Jesus and I a coward wayward and weak I change with the changing sky today I'm so brung so strong and brave but tomorrow I may be too weak to try but Jesus never gives up in the end we too shall win Jesus and I in the storms of life he is there though the outward body perishes day by day our spirit saw to be renewed in him and we sing Lord it is well as well it is well with my soul

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Keywords: sda, seventh day adventist, seventh-day adventist, who are seventh-day adventist, what do seventh day adventhist believe, 7th day adventist, mark finley, hopelives365, hope lives 365, christian, christianity, Ellen White, seventh day adventist church

Id: aPtsBMusM34

Length: 49min 41sec (2981 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 17 2019