What Manner of Man Is This?

Mark chapter four. Mark chapter four. We've been in Mark for a couple of weeks. Nobody smiled or laughed. We've been in Mark for several weeks and we are in Mark chapter four this morning and we're at the end of Mark chapter four.

And we're going to read verses 35 through 41. As we conclude Mark four Mark four verse 35 and the same day, when the even was come, he say it unto them, let us pass over unto the other side. That is the other side of the Sea Of Galilee And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with them with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind.

And the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full and he was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow and they awake him and say unto him, master, carest thou not that we perish and he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, peace be still. The wind ceased and there was a great calm and he said unto them, why are you so fearful? How is it? That you have no faith. And they feared exceedingly and said one to another, what manner of man is this?

That even the wind and the sea obey him. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more. Lord, thank you for your word today and the wonderful opportunity you've given to us to look into it together that we might be conformed more to the image of your son that we might be given guidance that we might be strengthened in our faith today In Jesus Christ, our savior. We pray Lord for those that could not be here today like miss Jesse because of illness in the family or their own. We pray that you would raise them up.

We pray that you would be with us that are here. Lord, that you might open up our hearts and our understanding to receive your word and that in all things, Jesus Christ would be exalted in our midst today. In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen. Amen.

I took the phrase from verse 41 for a title of the message this morning and that is what what manner of man is this. After all of this happened, the disciples looked up at Jesus as he sat there or stood there in the ship and the sea calm all around them. And they said, what manner of man is this? The answer to that is Jesus is the God man. He is no ordinary man.

He is no man simply led or even filled by the Holy Spirit. He is the God man. He is unique above all others. He is God deity in human form. And he expresses that Many times as recorded in the gospels through the miracles he did.

Christ's miracles served several purposes depending on the situation and the audience. These were not haphazard displays of power although display his power and identify his person they did. Jesus being God in human flesh is called Emmanuel both in Isaiah and in Matthew. He is God with who? He is God with us.

In Acts chapter two, if you turn there, hold your place in Mark because we will be back to Mark but turn if you would over to Acts chapter two and we're going to begin reading in verse 22. Acts chapter two and verse 22. Sad to say, the devil is busy at work even today with counterfeits. One day, there will be a counterfeit come on the scene called the Antichrist who will deceive the world into thinking that he is actually the Christ but there is only one Christ, there is only one Messiah, there is only one God man, the man Christ Jesus. In Acts chapter two, on the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up to preach and to convince the people, mainly Jews that were there for the feast of Pentecost that this person that they had cried out, crucify weeks earlier, had indeed risen from the dead and demonstrated that he was indeed the promised one of Israel in whom they should believe and put their trust.

In Acts chapter two and verse 22, it says, you men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you as you yourselves also know. Him being delivered by the determinant council and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should beholden of it. Look if you would over in verse 32.

This Jesus hath God raised up whereof we all are witnesses and in first Corinthians 15, Paul records some of those instances along with the gospels and then in verse 36, it says, Paul Peter says, therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. In Matthew 11 verses four and five, John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus just making sure here, are you the one? And Jesus said, you go to Acton, you tell John who by the way was in prison at the time. You tell John this, the things that you do hear and see. The blind receive their sight.

The lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Now, why would Jesus tell John's messengers to go back and tell him this? Because in the Old Testament, we won't take time this morning to look at several passages in the Old Testament that foretold that when the Messiah came, these things would follow. They would know he was the chosen one of God. They would know he was their Messiah, the king of kings, and Lord of lords because of the signs, the miracles, that he would do.

And he did. And they're reported for us today. So, we can know them as well. The gospel writers recorded them as led by the Holy Spirit to convince their fellow Jews and others that Jesus was who he said he was. Again, there's many, there were many before Jesus.

There have been many many after. But only one savior, only one true messiah that fulfilled all of those things. Said to be true of him. His name is Jesus Christ. And the miracles that he did, even the one here we read about in Mark four demonstrated his power.

They demonstrated his power over disease and defilement. He cleansed lepers. He healed the sick of the palsy. The woman with an issue of blood. No disease.

There was no disease that he couldn't heal. He healed it says in several passages, everyone and all that were brought to him. He had demonstrated power of disease in the he demonstrated power over defects like mentioned here. He gave sight to the blind, the deaf, and the dumb. He gave speech.

He demonstrated power over death. He raised Jairus' daughter from the dead. The widow's son, and Lazarus. Only God has the power. To give people life He demonstrated power over demons.

Particularly, I think about the maniac of Gadera. The demon or demons that possessed him were called legion because they were what? They were many. But many demons were no match for who? For Jesus Christ.

For he is the king of kings and Lord of lords. He's demonstrated power over depravity, the depravity of man. He demonstrated power over sin. When the sick of the palsy was brought before him, lowered down in the midst of the crowd. He didn't just say, take up thy bed and walk before he said, take up thy bed and walk.

He said, thy what? Thy sins be forgiven thee and then he told him to take up his bed and walk. To demonstrate that Christ has not only the power to heal body but to heal the soul. By forgiving. And bringing remission for sins.

Which he finalized when he shed his blood on the cross of Calvary. For all of us. He demonstrated power over the hearts of men. Turning vile sinners into saints. Calling out to the disciples from the shore, Saying, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

And they dropped their nets and they followed him. My my favorite is Levi. He is at the receipt of custom. He is a tax collect and Jesus walks by and he says, follow me and right in the middle of what Levi was doing, what did he do? He put up shop and he left and he never what?

He never turned back. He never. What is that? That's not the power of human determination. That is the power of Christ.

Over the hearts of men. He said to his disciples, you have not chosen me but I have what? I have chosen you. It is only by the grace of God and the power of God that he has changed our eternal destiny. He has changed us and made us to be the children of God.

Not by the will of man or the will of flesh by the will of God. He demonstrated power in this passage over what? Over nature. He simply called out to the to the sea, peace be still. Didn't take a lot of effort on his part.

The God who created the sea can certainly comment. In just a moment by just a word and he did. These not only declared his messianic appointment but also his almighty power as the sovereign God of creation. Even the demons were forced to leave and the wind and sea had to obey. Because he has the power of almighty God over them but his miracles served other purposes also such as demonstrating compassion for the sick and the hurting.

When Jesus had us get out of the city to try to find rest in the countryside, often the multitudes followed him. And he turned back and he looked at him and the Bible says he had what? Compassion. Lay a sheep without a shepherd. And he taught them and he healed them.

That was our savior. His miracles not only depict his power. Identify his person but his miracles also teach. They teach him his compassion. For the lost.

For he came not to judge the world but the world through him might be what? Saved. Might be saved. And he had compassion on me. He is a god of compassion Teaches us to have compassion.

He he is a god who is a god of provision. Not only did his miracles teach of his compassion but his ability to provide. God is a provider. He owns the cattle on a what? A thousand.

Here's a little chorus I sang as a kid. He owns the cattle on a thousand. And it helps me remember that. If God provided for multitudes in excess of 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, do you not think that he can provide for us? But seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be what?

Shall be added unto you. God is a god of provision. Wasn't long ago and this doesn't hasn't happened to me very many times but there was something that we we needed to do. We needed to to spend some money on and it just needed to be done and didn't know where the money was going to come from. And I opened up envelope in the mail.

It didn't have a return address. All it had in it was a check. Don't know where it came from. Don't know who sent it. Check didn't have the person's name on it.

Their signature was, you know, like that. Don't know who. But it provided for a need. A need he provided for even before it was needed. Know, and God has taken good care of us.

I know there's so many testimonies out there. God has taken care of you. Sometimes, it's not in the form of a check. Sometimes, it comes other ways. But God takes care of his own.

He is a god of provision He is a god of mercy and grace toward the lost sinner. When he saw that paralytic that was lowered down before him, he didn't see just a limp body laying on a cot. He saw a soul that needed forgiveness. And he showed mercy and grace. He is a god of mercy and grace.

To this man and to many many others Others to whom many had no mercy. The religious leaders of that day looked down on everybody else. They weren't there to help. They got really angry at Christ. Why was that?

Because Christ displayed and demonstrated what true mercy and compassion was. He did it in his teaching. He did it through his miracles. He taught others of the compassion provision and mercy and grace of God It's recorded for us here So, we can learn as well His miracles taught his disciples to see people differently than most. Unlike the Pharisees, he taught his disciples to see souls and not just people that were were in the way, not just people that were different.

But people who had a need. People who had a need that they would be able to meet through their savior Jesus Christ and by his word. His miracles taught them to trust and to have faith in God in himself. Particularly in respect to their own protection and defense to rely in Christ's presence in their life and to know that when everything else seems lost and scary, they need not fear the storm. When Christ is on board in their life.

That among other things is what this parable teaches us this morning. God is there. He said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you and for his children, he is our great protector. He is our he is our our tall tower. He is our mighty fortress.

He is our our buckler and our shield. He is our defense against the wiles of the devil. And the struggles of life He was there for them and he is there the same for us and we can rely on him, his presence, and his power just this day. There's another song I I teach and sing with the kids in Vacation Bible School. I had on a record when I was growing up.

I had a record of kids songs sung by Burl Ives. Now, you have to be, you know, fairly old to remember who Burl Ives is. But one of the songs on the record that Burl Ives sang was with Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm. Anybody heard that? With Christ in the vessel, we can smile.

Well, I won't sing it for you because I'll get myself in trouble because you see there's motions that go with the song that I teach the kids and I can't sing the song without doing the motions. So, but but the whole basis of the little kids song is this, with Christ in the vessel, in the boat, we don't have to be afraid, we can what? We can smile at the storms of life because Christ is on. He's with us. And we don't have Messiah but it would seem at this point that they had not yet fully hadn't yet fully sunk in who the Messiah actually was.

God incarnate. There was no need for them to be afraid. There's no need for you to be afraid. Let's look at some of the details. Mark chapter four verse 35 again.

So, Christ says, let's go. Let's get in the boat. Let's go to the other side of Galilee, the Sea Of Galilee. Now, the Sea Of Galilee is not a sea like the Mediterranean, okay? The Sea Of Galilee is also called Lake Knesset.

It is a large lake or a very small sea. It's only few miles across, a little further north and south. But because of where it's located and the way it's surrounded by hills and mountains, when storms come through that area they can bring up quite a swell. I am told on the waters of the Sea Of Galilee and they got caught in one of these storms and one of these swells and the there was great turbulence and wind. And we see here that they were immediately panic stricken.

Verse 37, there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. Now I don't think that means it was full of people. I think it was filling up with what? Probably water. Okay.

Is that a good thing? You ever been on a boat that was filling up with water? Anybody? Brother Steve? Anybody else?

Been on a boat that was filling up with water? Brother Ian? I was on a boat several times that was filling up with water. When I was about 13 years old and I couldn't swim very well, I had a friend who lived on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia on an inlet and there was a little dock at the end of his street and he had a little wooden boat. The little wooden boat was only about this wide.

No, not that wide. About this wide and about as long as from about here to there. So just kind of like a canoe but it wasn't built like a canoe. It had a flat bottom and sides that were about this high. And we got in the boat and we paddled out into where it was about 10 foot or 15 foot deep.

And then I started looking around while we were fishing and I said to my friend Gary, the boat is leaking. And he looked at me and said, well duh. You know like of course the boat is leaking. Well boats aren't supposed to leak. But the boat was leaking and it was filling up.

And I said don't we need to go back to shore? Oh, it's not. It's okay. It doesn't fill up that quick. So, I will paddle back in time and you know so here I am it's getting fuller.

It's creeping up. You know there's that much of the side left and that much. You know when it's about this far from the top Gary says okay let's paddle back to shore. So we get in right about the time of the dock when the boat goes bloop bloop bloop under water and we make it onto the dock. So we empty the boat out and get it all dried out and immediately we get back in the boat and we go out again.

And we repeated this three or four times until I learned how to swim because it was either sink or swim literally. It was kind of scary out there. Now, that's nothing compared. Nothing compared to what? To this.

They weren't in little boat in 10 foot of water in calm seas. They were in a relatively small boat in the middle of a very large lake. The waves were crashing. The water was it wasn't coming from the bottom. It was coming over the what?

The sides. In one place there when I was in Israel, they had dug up a fishing boat from Jesus' time. The fishing boat in length was from about here to the end of the rail on the platform. The fishing boat was not quite as wide as the platform, okay? That was a fishing boat and likely something similar in size to what Jesus and his disciples were in.

When I think of a fishing boat, I think often of something about maybe you know, half the size of the auditorium but this boat was considerably smaller and would have taken on water quickly and would have been in danger very quickly as well. And it was packed not only well but it was packed with people. Evidently, his 12 disciples and he were all on the boat. So, here comes the water crashing in. It's maybe dark.

Trying to think was it dark at that time? I know in the other case where they crossed, it was dark. And they were panic stricken. They weren't smiling They were hollering. They were scared to death nearly.

Have you ever been panicked? I mean, truly panicked I I was with that same friend, Gary. One night, we left his girlfriend's house on top of a hill and about 01:00 in the morning and he decided he was going to let his jeep just roll down her driveway which was a gravel driveway that went down this steep hill. At the bottom was a bridge and a creek that was another drop off about 20 or 30 feet down to the creek bed. On the way down the driveway with it rolling, the wheel hit wash you know what washboard is on a gravel road?

These were big ones, humps in the road. And he crashed into one of those. It jerked the wheel out of his hand. Off the side of the road we went and into a tree. And for a fleeting moment I was very panicked.

But you know something? The tree stopped us. You know, was a good thing because on the other side of the tree was a 50 foot drop off. But thank God for the tree not for my friend Gary but for the tree You know, when you when you fall and immediately, you know something is terribly wrong. Ever been there?

I fell off of a platform about this high. In our gymnasium when I was a youth pastor and my foot got caught up on so I I fell sideways and immediately when I hit, my elbow went crack. It's not a good feeling. Actually, I think my wife was more panic stricken than me because she thought I hit the hit my head on the floor. Thankfully, it was just my my arm and elbow.

The panic you feel when you get a phone call about a loved one Few years ago, got a phone call from my brother. Dad had a heart attack. It's not kind of phone call you want to hear. My dad's doing well by the way but that's not always the case. One day, it won't be.

The Lord tarries. The panic you feel when you remember that you have this very important appointment and it dawns on you that you missed it. I was supposed to speak in chapel at a Christian school when I was in Georgia. About an hour after chapel was supposed to start, all of a sudden, it hit me what day of the week it was and I had to call the poor guy up and apologize. That's a terrible feeling.

To know that you really goofed and you missed something important. These disciples were panicked even more than most of those situations. They were in a perilous place. They were facing one of their worst nightmares and indeed, it probably was a nightmare they had. They were fishermen on the Sea Of Galilee.

This was a circumstance that was indeed their nightmare but it wasn't a nightmare, it was what? It was real. It was real. And they were in grave danger. Imagine the people on the Titanic as it begins to dawn that the boat is sinking and you're in the middle of the ocean and there is no.

There is no help. There are no life jackets left. These men were panicked. They weren't smiling. Not now they were.

But the next thing we see is this, yes, they panicked but in their panic, they turned to somebody and they cried out for help. It says in verse 38, it says, and he that was Christ was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow and they awake him and say unto him, master, carest thou not that we perish. When their panic kicked in and when their nightmare was coming true, they turned to Christ. Now, in the midst of all this, Christ was in the back of the ship and he was what? Asleep.

Asleep. Now, how could you sleep through that? You wouldn't sleep through that but Christ could sleep through that because Christ is who? God. Christ is God.

There was no reason for Christ to be afraid. They were and so they cried out and they said, master, carest thou not that we perish. Fortunately, no providentially, they weren't on the ship by themselves. Jesus was on board. It was Christ who said it's time to go.

It was Christ who went out with them. It was Christ who was right there with them in the midst of the storm. You know, it's Christ who said as the father so sent me, what? So send I you. It is Christ who said, I will go with you always even until the what?

The end of the world or the end of the age and he is right there with his children in the storm. We have no reason to fear. He was right there in the boat. He wasn't on the shore. He was what?

He was in the boat with them. He is not far away. He is not watching us from a distance. He is right here with us as he was right there with them. When you get that phone call, Christ is right there.

With you He knows He knew before the phone call came He knew when he said, it's time to go He already knew. And he was right there with them to help them through what he knew was coming It is then we need to remember that Christ is near. And that we can call on him and you know something? He hears us. For he is neither far away or reverse to the trials and fears of his children.

Yes, they should not be of been afraid but they were. We know not to be afraid but sometimes we what? We still are. We still are afraid but you know something? Christ is still there and when we call he hears us Jeremiah thirty three three I think I put that up here God said to the Jews, call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.

When did he say that? I'll tell you when he said that. Israel was being conquered by Babylon. The cities were falling one by one. The people were being taken away captive.

Jerusalem was about to be leveled. And it was their own doing. God told them over and over again, the storm is coming if you do not turn back to me and they wouldn't turn back. But yet God says to them, what? Call unto me and I will what?

I will answer thee. If you'll humble yourselves, I will hear you. If you'll call unto me and I will show you great and mighty things. I've been on a boat in the Sea Of Galilee but not during the storm. But it would have been so neat though scary but neat especially knowing what we know to be there and to see those seas calm in instant but you may not have been on that boat and you may not been in those seas but but you've been in storms.

Wasn't Jesus there? Didn't he hear? If you know him, you know he a to going when Joshua he was little, he got these things a called night terrors. He'd wake up in the middle of the night. He don't remember this.

Because he was asleep. But we weren't asleep. He'd wake up and he'd be screaming and hollering and and in terror and you'd hold him and there was nothing you could do it seemed to calm him. And and this would go on for, I don't know, five, ten, fifteen minutes and Kate would hold him and he'd be hollering, screaming, and crying, and and just, you know, and and not awake. And I remember going in the living room and getting on my knees by the couch and praying.

And praying and praying until the night terrors ceased. It was all I could do. Nothing else I could do for him. But God would calm our fears and night terrors would go away. We all have our storms.

But those storms should push us to Christ knowing that he hears and he is ready and prepared for the road ahead even when may we may not be. The storm didn't catch Christ by surprise. It just caught the discip by surprise Whatever it is you went through yesterday or you're going through the day or go through tomorrow it may have caught you by surprise but it didn't catch you. It didn't catch Christ by surprise He already has the what? The answer and so we see the answer, the third part.

The panic the cry for help and the answer The solution reveal Look, if you would in verse 39, he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, peace be still and the wind ceased and there was a great calm, a great calm. I remember one morning I decided to go out to the beach and I do that every morning if I lived on the beach but it's a little too far away to go out there every day and sit there and and read and that one morning, the the The Gulf was like glass almost. I had never seen it like we were always out there in the evening. It was always, you know, waves but it was almost like a lagoon. And it was still calm.

And thought about this. In that day as they they sat there on that ship and all of a sudden, it went from being a tempestuous sea to still as glass. The storm was no danger to Christ nor was it ever really to them But nonetheless, he saw their fear was real and he calmed the seas in an instant. Now, we may not be in as much danger as we think we are. But Christ understands and he's there He could calm the sea in an instant Sometimes, God rescues us out of the storm immediately In the one case when they were in the Sea Of Galilee at night and there was a storm and Christ came walking on the water.

It says, when he got in the ship, they were at what? They were at the other side. It almost seems like immediately Christ took em. Right there they were. And he took them immediately out of the chaos when he got on board.

Sometimes, God's rescues us out of the storm immediately. It stops just like that. Sometimes, he lets us write out, write it out for a while until we remember he is there and we learn how to have patience and grow in our faith. Jeremiah two two two. Jeremiah one should say one two to four.

My brethren, count all joy when you fall into diverse temptations. Knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience but let patience have a perfect work that you may be perfect and entire wanting or lacking nothing. Sometimes, we call it to God. God, get me out of the storm and God says, no, just a little longer. Just a little longer because there's something you need to what?

Learn. To learn first. We're going to get out of the storm but you'd gotta be here just a little longer. Trust him. He knows what he's doing.

And sometimes we have to go through the storm for a little while. So that he can help us to learn and grow. Sometimes, he simply says to us, by grace is sufficient. Turn if you would to first Corinth second Corinthians chapter 12. Second Corinthians chapter 12.

Second Corinthians twelve seven through 10. Paul writes there He says, unless I should be exalted above measure to the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, to buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure and this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me and he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities than the power of Christ may rest upon me. You say, but pastor, I I have this illness. I I I have this problem with my back or my leg or my my eyes or and Christ hasn't healed me.

God doesn't heal us physically of everything but that doesn't mean that Christ doesn't hear us and that doesn't mean that Christ doesn't answer. Paul said, I asked God three times to take away whatever this was and God said, no. My grace is what? Sufficient. That isn't God saying, I won't help you.

That's God saying, I'm here. I'll give you the strength. I'll help you through it. It's still an answer to prayer. It's his answer.

It's the best answer. Sometimes, he takes us out of the storm. Sometimes, he lets us ride a ride in it for a while and sometimes God says, my answer is stay here and trust me Learn to be content Learn that I am there for you. Learn that I have a purpose and my grace is sufficient for you. Sometimes, he calls his children home.

People say, well, I prayed for healing and they passed away. When a Christian passes away they're healed Did you know that? There's no lame man in heaven There are no blind people in heaven Trust in the Lord. He is the solution There's no need to fear the storm. Oh you of little faith.

Proverbs three, five, and six, trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not into thine own understanding, and all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path. Trust in who? The Lord. He is behind with you and before you. He has it all figured out.

It's taken care of. Learn to trust. In him. And not in ourselves. Philippians four, six, and seven, be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus.

Don't be anxious. Take it to who? Take it to Jesus. Take it to the Lord. He said, if you'll take it to me, with thanksgiving, knowing that I hear, that I care, I will take care of you.

I will give you what? He'll give you peace. He doesn't say that he'll take away every problem like that. But he says, I will give you peace. That's what he did here.

He gave them peace As he said, peace be still to the storm In Joshua one nine, have not I commanded thee be strong and of a good courage Be not afraid neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is what? With thee. Withersoever thou goest. Joshua was bound to go into a storm. He had to lead millions of people into battle.

But he wasn't one. He wasn't alone. God said, I am with thee. Don't be afraid. Whatever the storm it is you're headed into or the storm you're coming out of or the storm you're in the middle of, if you know Jesus, he's with you.

We don't need to be afraid We need to trust in him Was only after the water calm that their jaws dropped as it sunk in a bit. A bit more who was sailing with them. Not just a rabbi, a teacher, not just a prophet, or a leader. But as they would shortly confess the son of the what? The son of the living God.

It says in verse 41 and they feared exceedingly and said one to another, what manner of man is this? That even the wind and sea obey him. What manner of man is this? Jesus Christ, the son of the living God. And as he was with them in the ship that day He is also with us.

The problem in our lives with following the Lord is not him. It's us. We need to grow in our faith. We need to grow in our trust because he is trustworthy. Do you know him As Lord of heaven and earth and your own personal savior Do you want to know him more?

As they did That's the kind of fear they had at the end. Not a fear of panic but a fear of wow. Who is it? That is sitting beside me. Who is it that gave you his word?

Who is it who lives inside your heart? The God of heaven. You have no need to fear the storm. Trust in him. Let's pray.

Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord today for your word. For this miracle that you did as you identified again to your disciples who you were as you began to dawn on them more and more. That the man they were sitting beside was no mere man. The son of God. Lord, I pray that if there's one here today that's never trusted in you as savior, Lord, I pray that it would dawn upon their heart today.

Who you are, what you did for them on the cross of Calvary. And the promise that you gave that you would give unto them eternal life if they would trust in you to save them from sin and hell. That they might come even as we give this hymn of invitation. For the greatest storm upon the lost is yet to come. Lord, you're the only one who can save us from sin and hell.

Lord, we pray if there's one here today that doesn't know you that they might come. We pray Lord for us who do that we day by day would grow in our trust and our faith and Lord that as we go through the trials, we would remember that you're there with us. We would call on your name. We would remember with Thanksgiving what you have done. We might grow to know you more, and to follow you better.

Putting our trust not in ourselves, not in our circumstances, but in the one who lives inside of our heart, the one who sits at the right hand of the father in heaven, the one who rose again from the dead, Never lives. Our advocate. Our savior and our friend. Jesus Christ the righteous. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.