What Brings Us to Our Knees?, Part 2

Never feel alone today on Insight for living from Chuck Swindoll. There are dark nights when we feel all but were not you have Jesus you have him living as a resident in your life is spirit is there to empower. To refresh your faith he's there.

Even though the mind is dark and everything appears dark and gloomy. It's easy to begin believing all along. Sometimes in the middle of our struggle. The loneliness becomes suffocating today on Insight for living.

Chuck Swindoll recounts a dramatic story in Matthew chapter 14 where Peter stepped out of his fishing boat on the choppy waters of the lake. He was not alone. And from those faith building moments when Peter walked on the water toward Jesus Chuck fines for practical lessons for today and he begins his message with prayer we stand before you father be, we would under the same words for you are my my my. We are so we we are so impotent to change even the slightest part of our circumstances, so we we bow before you and trust you to do that and you are loving, loving, loving, we are not were fickle or temperamental. Our love warms and cools depending on others response and we acknowledge that openly and with measure of embarrassment. How grateful we are to come to one who knows us the best, and yet… The most you are why why why and we lack that wisdom we see now, but were unable to see even an hour from now were unable to shape our thinking, without your help and your wisdom, we count on you to do that and we trust you this morning and this very hour together to replace our limited site with your wisdom and you are holy, holy, holy, and we are not we are sinful by by birth, by nature and by choice we say with Paul Richard man in my who will deliver me from this body of death.

So today, our father, knowing that you have all the things we do not have. It is a privilege to call upon you to provide the strength we don't have because you were mighty to provide the love that we lack because you are full of love and to give us the kind of wisdom we long for.

But we haven't in ourselves and you alone can make us holy and do that. We pray by your grace, and as you do that today, as we anticipated. We give full of joy joy joy in the name of Jesus every once a man to study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll.

Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies going to Insight world.org/study another message from Chuck that he titled what brings us to our knees in the midst of this, what seems to be like an impossible circumstance.

I love the setting of Jesus coming up toward them. Look for yourself when the disciples saw him walking on the water. They were terrified in their fear and they cried out it's a it's a it's a go. He doesn't rebuke them, and simply says I don't know. Don't be afraid. And they realize who it is and his words are. I am that's who's here I am, so forgive me here if it's a little too far, but my imagination does get a little crazy sometime Peter. He looks at him and goes and that is cool what about our Sunni okay and Jesus says simply,, great minds and throws his tunic aside was a big old hairy leg over the side of the boat will gets all the weight of the storm is still going on. It still pounding away way walking on the blanket cool stuff and all of a sudden he looks down to see the waves and feel the wind, he starts to sink any scree I love the line in the in the Greek text, beginning to sink he cried out to love that I took the life of Christ from Dwight Pentecost, and he made a great deal out of this beginning to sink, just as the water begin the laptop over the sandals.

Not till he was waist deep in water drowning, but he is just barely starting to sink his right to sink in that flash of faith failed and the Lord reaches over love it and grabs him what you've missed all your life is is most likely you've missed. It is something I found just this past week when Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. I'm in I'm in verse 31. Yes, he reached out and grabbed him. He said little faith.

He gave him the name of little the last name he gave them Rocky no one to resent, and now little faith, but they but what is probing is the question is, is holding Peter close when Jesus holds the universe sink and he said to him, why did you doubt wonderful question Peter never answers. It's a rhetorical question meant to make them think those of the best questions, not those that have quick and simple answers but those of drill in and hit you like shrapnel in the brain and you think on them. I think Peter remember that question for a long time wanted you to have. We were going together on the water. You focused on the wrong thing. When I climbed back in the boat look at it. Look at the story. 32. They climbed into the boat, the wind stopped not been to see a number of times and I will tell you I have seen the women start, but I have never ever seen it suddenly stop, I believe immediately. A slick formed on the water on that see the Jesus of made centuries earlier in the boat is still rocking from the movement in the storm, but there was no wind and there was another way and we read then the disciples came to realize something as the son of God and what they do. My text says they worshiped it brought them to their knees. Why haven't they done that during the storm. When they realize it was Jesus walking on the why wasn't at that moment everybody singled said is the son of God will bring great great shape as if it's storming we go go wanderer Jesus is there and were not told in Matthew's gospel, but Mark does tell us if you got New Testament in your hand turn to Mark chapter 6 verses 51 and 52 as the storm stops. Mark insert that he is the earliest of all the gospel writers he inserts something the other writers do not include in our reading, for they have not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves for their heart was hardened old. You hear that it hasn't been 24 hours since her stuffed back. I should've remembered of the a part of it all over Central several times during the storm and they remembered the food that he had provided but they had gain no insight from the food before were busy shaving them hit the reverse button go back to your recent movement were you failed to gain instant and gain insight from the incident that the Lord to take you through. We all could name of, and they worshiped him. When it finally all came clear I would finish the story but would not finish the message because there's something here for all of us that we can all enter into without a lot of effort. Here's the first. There are dark nights when we feel all alone, but were not were not. I will never leave you. I will never abandon you never forsake you. I am with you always, to the very end of the 80 you have Jesus you have him living as a resident in your life is spirit is there to empower, to remind you of those incidents. To refresh your faith he's there. Even though the night is dark is no night quite so dark as a night for the bottom seems to have dropped out of your hope some of you were there right now you're running real shy of hope and night is coming soon, but you're not alone. There's a second thought. There were huge storms that seemed to last too long, but they're not. Not too long. No storm strikes is that is not known by permitted by or directed by the Lord our God, what a difference it makes in storms sometime. Cynthia and I will say to each other. This is not an accident some event that occurs that sort of sweeps us off our feet. I had stayed to spin and in the swirl.

We're tempted to think how long is this going to go on as it is like the prophet Habakkuk where you can't figure out what the Lord's doing in these treacherous people are in charge of the government and and and and he says to the Lord of why is this happening and how long is this cubicle on the Lord tells them if if I told you you wouldn't believe what I'm going to do an about-face as to the Lord will tell me in the Lord tells them about a ghost I can't believe I just can't believe God was holy using godless people like the Assyrians to invade our country. I know what I'm doing is not on the control one flip of my finger in the Assyrians movie to return back to the storm. It it's never longer than it should be.

I learned from a woman of God. Years ago when I was teetering on the edge of doubt, she pulled me aside and said to me Chuck. I don't want to remind you that the Lord not only plans the depth of the test.

He plans the length of it as well that Soren could have lasted only an hour or so and bent over, but it didn't went on and on and on and on and on and on like your storm like your rights on answered prayer, but the situation you're dealing with. And every time you try to deal with it more it gets only more complicated is not too long. It isn't too long storms. Remember, under his control. He walks on stormy sea, which is the third point. There are flashes of faith.

There are flashes of faith.

We believe will last, but they don't unify support of faith we withdraw our fund over the boat and were rated up, walk on water with ended and we will take on the waves and they would get hit again by the men we begin to sink. They don't last very low. These little flashes of faith and that brings up a great fourth point. There were dreadful moments we think will sink and drown.

But we don't. You're here, aren't you, your breathing, aren't you hearts beating is in it heater the end hasn't come because you began to sink and not sink in my arms. None of these tests. The dark Knight the huge storms. The faith flashes that fade, even those sinking moments when we think will drown. These are that these are not designed to finish us off are designed to bring us to our knees in worship, but they won't. If we lack imagination, remember it's at these times we have to see the unseen as we walk by faith, we have to realize there's more there then were actually able to see.

We talk about eyes of faith. That's what that's all about.

I read some time ago. The short story by GW target titled the window. It's a wonderful account short but full of passion of two men who are really sick in the same hospital room one is as a bed, but the door and the others over there by the window and the man by the door is not able to sit up at all. He has to stay flat on his back and the man over there on the other side is able to get up for one hour every afternoon as he said something they are able to drain his lungs less. They fill out and His disease taken. Interestingly, they develop a conversation in a friendship is that they talk about their families, their work there hobbies times they went on vacation but what was really unique about it is when the man by the window would we talk to the man on his back and tell him what he was seeing.

He saw a park with a lovely lake ducks and swans played on the water little children floated their model boats in lovers walked arm in arm in the walkway was filled with colorful flowers and old trees graced the landscape a fine view of the skyline of the city was in the distance is the badly there. He pictured in his mind it seemed marvelous to be good only see it with his own one warm afternoon the band over there described a parade which the other man could not hear windows closed and he describes it beautifully does a drum major there's a band there are people marching there are folks on the side, clapping and rhythm with the cadence unexpectedly an alien thought fill the man who couldn't sit up, why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything. It isn't fair is the thought fermented. The man felt ashamed at first but then as the days passed. He missed seeing more sites and is in be turned into into resentment and eroded into a sour bitterness night fell in that particular night.

He heard gagging from a man by the window and he was reaching he could hear him trying to find the cord to call the nurse command of the door. Numerous cord was.

He could see it but he never reached over and pulled it that would've brought the nurse to save his life.

After a while, there was silence deftly side. The nurse came in to take her vitals later in found the band was gone.

She was saddened cold for those who would come and take the body away. The man who had been longing to have that bid soon asked to continue move me to that bid, but I'd like to be in that bed and she said of course it was not yet gone and so everything was still dark, but finally the sun began to rise as he looked over to his amazement he saw that it was a blank wall everything the other matted scene.

He saw through his imagination.

You sit here today, and unless I miss my guess, you in be some who seem to have the colorful side of life. We seem never to be sick. They rarely seem to have a problem. The job is moved up for them. Lovely place to live. Wonderful, wonderful family, yours sort of disintegrated all of it makes you sad you're not careful it makes you resentful, especially if you forget the power of what I call sacred imagination of the words for faith trusting God in spite of where you find yourself believing that he is in charge of how dark the night is and how loam the storm last and how to handle you as you strut in your faith flashes and when you cry out for help of faith believes the company risk not enough is been said about the value of imagination as Bauer orients so that you're not interrupted by any other visual stimuli.

Just close your eyes sit there really of the last few days. If it helps. The last few weeks in pretty rough storms been raging seem like it's 24 hour nightfall, remind yourself of this moment is right there in that storm reminding you I am I am come walk with me all the difference that makes.

It takes away that feeling that you're all alone or night will never pass or the embarrassment of your foolishness and your doubt. So I invite all of us who were little faith pause right here and learn something from the incident of the loaves and the fish that are God provides.

He hasn't stopped just because life is gotten difficult.

If you've never trusted in the Lord Jesus call out to him.

Help me Lord I can't keep doing this journey alone.

I need you I need your arms around me need you to hold me close help me make it through the night.

Get me beyond the store when you call in Christ, he will come in to live within you and would love to help you in your first steps call the Christian life. You let us know you need that help will be there.

Thank you, dear father for your marvelous word or with just a simple touch of imagination. We enter into a story. We never really entered into before. Thank you that that Jesus never drowned always walks on that store is never at a loss for words. He knows when to say I am come in and never shames us that you father giving us a Savior like that quiet every heart that has come near near deep depression bring them back. Give them hope. Bring the some these things I ask in the name of Jesus. Everyone said amen amen though you may feel overlooked in life, perhaps isolated by your circumstances.

We hope today's program reassures you that you're never alone. God walks alongside us, even in the storm you're listening to Insight for living Chuck Swindoll titled today's message what brings us to our knees and if you'd like to learn more about this ministry. Please visit us online@insightworld.org.

Perhaps you never stop to think about it, but while you may be listening to this program all by yourself. You're joined by countless others who are listening right now to affect someone left a note on her website that said, I'm a senior citizen living alone.

Your laughter is contagious. It brightens my day. Thank you very much Chuck you are a blessing to many, both to the lost, who came to know the Lord because of your preaching and to believers who need daily spiritual feeding may God continue to bless you and your ministry such encouraging words from someone who listens to this program every day and if you are among those who financially support Insight for living.

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