Jesus and Life's Storms

I would like you to take your Bibles this morning and turn in them to John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

! Yesterday as I finished the sermon that I preached for my mother's memorial, I summarized

! I summarized a pastor's responsibility in the pulpit.

It's not a very complicated job in that a pastor really has the responsibility of making

much of Jesus and putting people on the spot of saying yes or no to God.

I trust that as you take your Word in hand and follow, as we study in John chapter 6,

John 6 · chapter mention

that you will also multitask in praying that the Word of God would have free course and

that it would make an impact on your life and that you would leave here this morning

if you don't know Christ, that you would leave here knowing Him and believing in Him for eternal

life. That's one.

Another thing is this, is if you are here and you know Christ, I trust that you leave here

this morning with a greater affection and a delight in Him and thinking to yourself,

the day is coming that I'm going to see Him face to face. That's going to be good.

I want you to turn in your body. You're in John. Can you multitask? Put a finger in John chapter 6

John 6 · chapter mention

and go to a verse that kind of is a driving thought behind what we're going to study.

Turn to 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 8.

1 Peter 1:8

If I were to...well, there are a number of verses that are important to me, so I'll get in trouble

with that one. But it's probably a verse that in the last 10 years has been one of the things that

has driven me forward in my growth with loving Christ. It's this passage. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse

1 Peter 1:8

8, it says, though you have not seen Him...stop just for a moment. Hey, look at me. Can you love

somebody you don't know? Come on. Can you really love somebody you don't know? Let me just throw out

a couple names and just see if they really resonate with your soul. Genghis Khan. Oh, yeah. Warm fuzzies

for him. You know, it's like, Julius Caesar, huh? No, no. Face it, we can't love somebody we don't know.

And here is Peter saying, though you have not seen Him, you love Him. What that undeniably points to

is that Peter recognized that believers, you and me today, can know Him. And how do we end up knowing

Jesus? How do we end up genuinely, truly loving Him? It is by discovering the beauty and the glory

of Christ in the Scriptures with the enabling of the Holy Spirit. Can you kind of track that in your

mind? How is it that we grow in loving Christ? It is by discovering the beauty and the glory of Christ

in the Scriptures with the enabling of the Holy Spirit. Hey, listen. If the Holy Spirit is not helping

you to grow in your affection for the Lord Jesus Christ, it's not going to take place. More

information apart from the enabling of the Spirit of God is just more information.

And so if you're sitting here this morning and you do not have a love for the Lord Jesus Christ,

there is something deeply wrong. And I pray that the preaching of the Word of God this morning brings

you to the point of saying, I desperately need God to do a work in my heart.

And I trust that this morning that our study, go back now if you would to John chapter 6,

John 6 · chapter mention

ends up really giving to you just a welling sense of, man, I can't believe the Jesus that loves me

and that is my Savior and that someday I am going to see face to face. You know, it's like, wow.

I hate it. I have to talk about my mom. She's with the Lord. But I remember about two weeks ago,

mom had about three or four dips where we thought she was going to die and she didn't and then she did.

But I remember about two weeks ago, maybe three weeks ago, she had a picture of dad hanging there

where she was and she said, you know what, I want to cross up there right next to dad.

So that the first thing I see is Jesus and the second thing I see is dad, okay?

I want it to be that way in my life, right? The first thing I think about is Jesus. Everything else is second.

And I trust that part of our study this morning will give to you a growing affection for the Lord Jesus

that you will have a longing to see Him face to face, right?

Let me have you look now with me to the passage beginning there in verse 16.

When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.

It was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them.

The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.

When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,

and they were frightened.

But He said to them, it is I.

Do not be afraid.

Then they were glad to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

One of the things that I have worked at in our studies in the book of John

is that for the most part, I have kept the cross-references primarily within the book itself.

And I don't think that is a necessary discipline for every time a pastor preaches.

But in my work in the book of John, I've wanted to stay kind of focused in that and limit it.

But we're going to step beyond that this morning in particular,

and we're going to rely upon the synoptics because there are details that I think really help us appreciate

what was going on in this seemingly kind of minor little picture in the ministry that Christ had to His disciples.

So as we take up this passage, let's recognize, first of all, supreme protection.

Not immediately on the face of it.

And you might be thinking that the protection that I am referencing really is what happened in the storm,

and that's not the case.

Our text, beginning there in verse 16, is rather innocent on the face of it.

And if we're not paying attention to the context,

and we don't kind of begin to think outside of this passage itself

and recognize both the hearts of the disciples and things we find elsewhere,

we probably just gloss over and move on.

And it tells us there on the passage that when evening came,

the disciples got in the sea in the boat,

and they launched out across the Sea of Galilee, actually a large lake.

But we need to ask ourselves a question, why?

Why did they do that?

We do get some idea from John chapter 6, verse 14 and 15,

John 6:14

so let's kind of go back a little bit and see where that takes us.

When the people saw the sign that He had done,

they said,

this is indeed the prophet who has come into the world.

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king,

Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.

You see, what had happened, and it's important for us to recognize,

is that after Jesus had performed the miracle in turning five loaves and two little fishes

into a meal for probably 20,000 people,

the people were very impressed with this.

This was a significant miracle,

and it's one that they could kind of relate to personally.

And it, whoa, I mean, how many of you like to have free food for the rest of your life,

never worry about dinner,

or how many of you have ever called up your wife at lunchtime and said,

hey, what's for supper?

Jesus is taking care of it.

It's all right.

You know what I mean?

Hey, they liked the idea of having everything cared for,

and they were pressing,

and they were really kind of fired up to get Jesus to be their king.

Now, finger in John, turn back to Matthew chapter 14.

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 14 gives us a little further information

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

that colors our understanding of what we see there in John chapter 6, verse 16.

John 6:16

In verse 22 and 23, let me read it to you.

Immediately, he made the disciples get into the boat

and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd.

And after he had dismissed the crowds,

he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

When evening came, he was there alone.

I want you to recognize that, for one,

Jesus actually forced his disciples to leave the environment

in which everything was just completely enthusiastic

in its endorsement and approval of Jesus,

and at least what he had done on the surface.

He sent the disciples away.

He made them go.

Not only did he make the disciples go,

but he dismissed himself from the crowd,

and he removed himself to a distant place

and stepped away from them

and departed from the environment

where the temptation and the enthusiasm of the moment,

everybody,

we want you to be our king.

He got out of that situation.

I want you to recognize that in dismissing the crowd,

Jesus protected his mission

and his own heart

from being sidetracked

by his temporary approval rating

from the ministry and the mission

that his father had sent him to accomplish.

How many of you like when people like you?

Huh? Huh?

On the very face of it,

we like compliments,

but even more than that,

we take great comfort

when people appreciate what we're doing

and let us know how important we are.

And, you know,

you have to stop and realize

that it wasn't just Jesus

that was affected by the attitudes of the crowd,

and Jesus had the wisdom and heart of his father

to know what he was there doing.

I want you to recognize

that the disciples, without question,

must have been carried away a little bit

by kingdom-itis.

What do I mean by kingdom-itis?

Think with me.

The disciples,

if you kind of would track a little later

in the book of John

and actually in the synoptic gospels,

do you remember what their standard arguments

and disputes were about?

It was about who was going to be

the greatest in the kingdom.

Hey, the day is coming

when Jesus is going to be on the throne,

and I'm going to be his right-hand man,

and when I walk in the room,

everybody's going to stand up and say,

yeah, Tim, what does Jesus want?

You know, it's like,

huh, really important person.

I'm close to Jesus, you know.

And the disciples were all about this,

and here, the moment was in front of them,

20,000 people saying,

we want Jesus, we want Jesus.

And how were the disciples getting into this?

Whew, this is the moment.

Guys, it's going to happen.

It had been a little rocky here,

you know, cleansing the temple

and having a little spitting matches

with the Pharisees.

Those haven't gone over very well,

but now where are we?

Jesus has fed the 20,000,

and everybody's with him.

It's time to step up and take control.

And Jesus grabs his low-life disciples.

He says, listen, I love you.

Get in the boat.

No, no, no, Jesus.

Do you understand?

The moment it could pass,

they may not like you so much tomorrow.

By the way, you move a little bit ahead

in John chapter 6,

John 6 · chapter mention

and you find that Jesus preached his,

what is known as

disciple elimination sermon, right?

But here is Jesus

at the moment of opportunity,

and everybody is saying,

we want you to be our king.

And he grabs his disciples,

and he says, hey, out of here.

I want you to understand that

in doing so,

Jesus, for one thing,

protected himself.

He stayed focused on the mission

of our salvation,

not in being a secular king

and making a momentary difference

in minor issues of politics

there in Judea and Jerusalem.

Jesus also protected his disciples.

I want you to recognize

that their desire for Jesus

to be elevated really had its roots

not in their affection for him principally

as the Lord of glory

and the Savior who came into the world

to save sinners.

We know from repeated illustrations

in the Gospels

that their interest was

in their own position.

They were interested in themselves.

And Jesus, knowing the frailty

of their hearts,

he said, hey, listen,

we're not going to be riding in motorcades.

We're not going to have everybody

kind of bowing and scraping for us.

We're not going to be flying around

in private jets

and doing wonderful things

in arenas

and making lots of money

off of this.

Here, guys,

out of here.

You can imagine

the disciples

kind of saying

in their hearts,

what's the deal with Jesus?

Everybody loves him,

and they love us too.

Why are we doing this?

And so I kind of want you

to imagine with me,

here's Jesus saying,

there's a time for you

to get away

from the temptation

of the moment,

get out of the situation.

And so to you as believers,

I say along with Jesus,

get in the boat, believer,

and get away from temptation.

When you find yourself

in the situation

where your heart

is being drawn

to the affections

of the world

and things that have

no eternal consequence,

it is time

to get in the boat

and get away

from the situation.

And by the way,

where did they go

when they got into the boat?

They went into a storm.

So I think it's fair

for us to recognize

that because of Christ's love

for you

and Christ's love for me,

He will take us away

from a place

that will overwhelm us,

but He may well lead you

into a storm

at the same time.

Isn't that strange?

Because we like to think

that if we're following Jesus,

it's all going to be

smooth sailing

and everything's going

to be perfect

and we're not going

to have any troubles.

Well, Jesus said,

hey, out of here, guys.

I want to protect you.

Get in the boat.

Get!

And off they go

and the next thing

they have

is a mess on their hands.

Now for these

simple little fishermen

that became disciples,

getting into a boat

and rowing across

the Sea of Galilee

was no big detail.

Thanks to Google

and Wikipedia,

I know that a rowboat

about this size

probably make about

two, two and a half hours,

two and a half miles per hour

and possibly

ten miles across.

And so they kind of imagined

a late night arrival

on the other shore

and back off they were

to wherever they wanted to rest.

and that's not the way

it worked out.

You notice there

in verse 18

it says,

the sea became rough

because a strong wind

was blowing.

He had sent them away

from the temporary approval

of the throng

and he'd gone up the mountain

to pray alone.

And as he prayed

throughout that night,

here were the

seamen disciples

rowing

and as they began to row

things got tougher

and tougher

and they had a headwind

and when you're rowing

a large rowboat

with a bunch of guys in it

and there's a headwind against,

they weren't making

any headway at all hardly.

It tells us there

that they'd made

about three or four miles.

And if you pay attention,

they were in,

as it says here,

in the fourth watch.

That's between three

and six o'clock

in the morning.

And so if you turn

into your Bible,

you're there in John,

keep your finger there,

but I want you to go over

to Mark

in Mark chapter 6,

Mark 6 · chapter mention

we read that

things were not going

well at all.

Verse 48,

he saw them

that they were making

headway painfully

for the wind

was against them

and about the fourth

watch of the night,

he came to them

walking on the sea.

We don't do boat rides

very often

and I would venture

to say that if I were

to ask how many

of you have rowed

across a lake before,

there are very few

of you that would say

you've done that.

Rowing is hard work.

It really is.

And rowing a boat

that can carry

12 men

means pushing

a lot of water

out of the way

with brute force

to make any headway.

these guys had been

rowing all night

and the storm

got stronger

and more powerful

and they were

aware that they were

in a difficult

place.

It says there

in Mark,

and we look at it,

it says,

they were making

headway painfully.

What had begun

as a quiet boat ride

had turned

into an absolute

disaster.

Now,

they were experienced

fishermen,

but it's understandable

that the storm

became more

than they could bear.

Incidentally,

this is not

the only storm

that is recorded

in the Gospels.

It's the second one

in which the disciples

found them

in a mess.

Can I give you

just a little bit

of detail

on the first one?

Because in the first one,

guess who was

in the boat

with them?

It was Jesus.

And where was he?

In the boat,

asleep.

I mean,

he was just,

you know,

just resting

and these guys

were just sweating

bullets in the storm

and finally

they wake him up.

I like it

in the King James.

It says,

carest thou not

that we perish?

You know,

I mean,

hey,

if you like a little

King's English,

there it is.

Carest thou not

that we perish?

You know,

it's like,

where are you,

bud?

We're suffering

and you're not

paying attention.

How'd that one end up?

Remember?

Jesus calms the storm

and everything's okay.

Well,

here they were

rowing again.

Knowing the disciples,

I don't think

one of them thought

or one of them

said to the other,

wouldn't it be nice

if Jesus showed up

right now?

Do you think

the disciples

were thinking that way?

No?

They were just

pulling on the oars

and come on,

John,

will you put a little

more back to this thing?

Do you realize

we've only made

three hours,

you know,

three miles here,

we are not doing very,

nobody stopped to think,

oh man,

I wish Jesus were here.

We could really use

Jesus' help right now.

Man,

why hasn't he come to hell?

That didn't go

through their minds.

They were doing

their own thing.

We've done that too,

haven't we?

Haven't we?

Bit in the boat,

slogging across

through the problem

and never stopped

for a moment

to say,

Jesus,

we need your help.

I want you to mark,

still there in Mark

Mark 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6.

Let me read it again

to you.

It says,

and he saw that they

were making headway

painfully,

for the wind

was against them.

I want you to understand

that Jesus had,

for one thing,

sent his disciples

away from the temptation

of popularity

into a difficult situation.

I think sometimes

we assume

that the difficult

situations we are in

happen to us

because Jesus

is not paying attention.

That's not necessarily

the case.

Sometimes he puts us there,

and he puts us there

to teach things

about his sufficiency

that we would not

learn apart from that.

over in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12,

the apostle

recounts

or shares with us

the experience

of having some kind

of physical affliction.

The Bible doesn't tell us,

but it does tell us

that he pled with the Lord

three times

to have it taken away,

and the Lord said,

no, no, no.

I've allowed this

in order that you

might learn

my sufficiency.

He said,

when I am weak,

what Paul says,

when I am weak,

then he is strong.

I find out

his sufficiency

in the moment

of my distress

because that's where

I discover

that he can help

the best.

I want you to understand

that Jesus sent

his disciples

into the storm

knowing what was

going to come,

and we can count

on Jesus

to send us

into storms.

Don't think to yourself

that being a believer

is going to mean

that you have

some kind of

contractual guarantee

that you're not going

to have problems

in your life.

That's not true.

That's not true.

In fact,

if you were to track

through the Scriptures,

you will find

over and over again

that in both

the Old Testament

and the New Testament

that God uses

problems and difficulties

to make us stronger

in our walk

and our confidence

in him.

Over in Exodus,

and you don't need

to turn there,

Exodus chapter 13

Exodus 13:17

verse 17 says this,

when God led

his people

out of the land

of Egypt,

he took them

the long way

because he was concerned

that when they

eventually got

to Palestine,

to the promised land,

if they hadn't

been toughened up,

they would have been

too much of the wuss.

Do you know

what a wuss is?

How many of you

know what a wuss is?

A wuss is just

kind of a Casper

milk toast.

You know,

it's a guy

who doesn't

have any backbone.

He said,

he was concerned

that when they

arrived,

they wouldn't

have the guts

to do what

needed to be done,

which was go

sticking long

pointy spears

in people's

bodies and

killing them.

He said,

hey,

you weren't

into the battle.

God toughened

them up.

God left

enemies in Israel.

It also tells us

in the Old Testament,

God left enemies

in Israel in order

that the coming

generation would

know what it was

to deal with

adversity and

hardship.

So,

I want you to

recognize that

Jesus takes us

into storms and

He has an intention

in doing that.

But there's something

else that I want you

to mark here in

this passage.

Remember,

Jesus had gone up

the hill to pray

and He had spent

a great deal of time

in sweet communion

with His Father.

And prayer with

His Father

was not an obligation

or something to be

endured.

It was a time of

enjoyment and blessing

and peace.

But I am struck

by the fact that

even in the midst

of Christ's prayer

with His Father,

He had His eyes

set on His disciples.

That's what we know.

And so,

you can count on

Jesus watching over you

and watching over me

with unconditional love.

One of the books

that Judith and I

over the years

have found to be

so blessed

is a book by

K. Arthur

called

As Silver Refined.

It's a book

that God brought

providentially

into our lives

at a point of

real difficulty

and heartache.

And one of the things

that K. Arthur

points out

is that there's not

a moment in our life

that comes to us

that has not

already been measured

in the hands

of a loving Father

He never lets

something happen

to us

that He's not

already weighed

and measured

for its effect

on you

and His care

and love

means that

that circumstance

that you find yourself in

is going to be something

that is going to produce

growth

and maturity in you.

You know,

we sometimes look

at the hardships

and difficulties

that we're enduring

and we think,

I can't go through that.

I don't know why

I'm in this situation.

I want you to know

that in the midst

of the situation

Jesus is paying attention.

He knows what

you're going through

and He cares for you

and He is in control

of that moment.

There's one other thing

that I want you to find

there in the passage

and turn back

to John chapter 6

John 6 · chapter mention

if you will

and I want you to find

sufficient encouragement.

Not only was Jesus

protecting His disciples

by taking them away

from the temptation,

not only was He

paying attention

to their need

in the middle

of the storm,

but He brought

sufficient encouragement.

In John chapter 6

John 6:19

verse 19,

here's what we read.

It says,

When they had rowed

about three or four miles,

they saw Jesus

walking on the sea

and coming near the boat

and they were frightened.

They were tired.

They were completely

overwhelmed by the storm.

And you can imagine

twelve wet,

frustrated fishermen

together in a boat

kind of commiserating together.

How many of you

find that grumbling

and complaining

just makes things go better?

Raise your hand

and say,

I know that.

But even though

we know it doesn't

make things go better,

how many of us

do it anyway?

I'm just guessing

that the disciples

were kind of commiserating

with each other.

I mean,

hey,

fuss, fuss, fuss,

and suddenly,

you know,

rowing and someone

looks over there.

Whoa,

who is that?

Walking on the water?

I mean,

talk about a pretty

spectacular miracle.

I mean,

that had to be

a little unnerving,

you know.

Whoa.

In fact,

you know what?

Let's go back

to Matthew chapter 14 again

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

because we're going

to see that it wasn't like,

hey, Jesus,

good to see you.

Come on over

and help us.

Matthew chapter 14,

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

let's get a picture

of this thing.

there they are,

sweating.

Jesus arrives.

Not a one of them said,

whew,

glad you're here.

Seeing you reminds me

of the last time

you helped us.

No,

that's not what happened.

Matthew chapter 14,

Matthew 14:26

verse 26 and 27,

it says,

but when the disciples

saw him walking

on the sea,

they were terrified.

How many of you

have been terrified before?

I mean absolutely

to the point

that you couldn't

get your breath.

That's what happened here.

They were terrified.

And it says,

it's a ghost

and they cried out

in fear.

I mean,

these are adult men.

Do you get that?

Now,

listen to me.

Adult men,

men who had spent

their lives

on that lake

fishing,

for them to cry out

in terror

meant that they

were absolutely

overwhelmed

by what they saw

in the moment.

And listen to what

Jesus said.

Verse 27,

and immediately

Jesus spoke to them

saying,

take heart.

It is I.

Do not be afraid.

Take heart.

It is I.

Do not be afraid.

And so as you

pick up on this,

I want you to stop

and realize

that the ones

we're talking about

are hand-picked men,

at least 11 of them,

that are going to be

pillars of the church.

The New Testament church.

And here they are

in storm number two,

completely overwhelmed.

And so when you find

yourself on occasion

completely overwhelmed

and later on

kind of frustrated,

how come I didn't get it?

Will you be patient

with yourself

as Jesus has been

patient with you

and as Jesus was

patient with the disciples?

Don't you wish

that spiritual growth

happened on a

more rapid pattern?

Bear with it.

Jesus is far more

patient with our frailty

than sometimes

we are with ourselves.

And here is Jesus.

Instead of berating,

instead of chewing up

the disciples

and spitting them out,

hey guys,

what's the problem?

Do you remember

the last storm?

What about the feeding

of the...

No, he didn't do

any of that.

He says,

hey, calm down.

It's I.

Take heart.

And so I want you

to understand this morning

that for one thing

as believers

you're going to find

yourself in storms.

Admit it.

There are going

to be storms.

Don't get caught

by the enemy

with this unbelievable

and unreasonable

expectation that

just because you're

a Christian

you're not going

to have heartaches

and difficulties.

You will have them.

But here's what

I want you to understand.

Jesus is with you

in your storm.

That's what we see here.

He had been watching

even in the time

of his sweet communion

with his father.

He had his eyes

on his disciples.

Do you understand that?

He knew their need

and at the right moment

he showed up

and when he did

they were terrified

and he says,

hey, calm down guys.

It's me.

It's me.

I am so overwhelmed

when I stop

and think about

Christ's love

for his own.

Weak as the disciples

were at grasping

the glory of Christ

and his ability

to take care of needs.

Overwhelmed as they were

by the storm

and then overwhelmed

as they were

by his presence,

Jesus very tenderly

dealt with them

in their frailty

without scolding them.

And mark one other thing.

Look in verse 21.

Then they were glad

to take him

into the boat

and mark the last

little part

and immediately

the boat

was at the land

to which they were going.

I want you to mark this

in your own thoughts

in your own life.

Jesus will meet your need

and he will take his disciples

to the other side.

Do you know that?

Where you are

in your difficulty

and the storm of life

that you're enduring,

I want you to know this,

that Jesus is committed

not to abandon you

and not to leave you

in that mess

and that heartache.

Do you know what he said?

To his disciples,

he said,

Lo, I am with you

even unto the ends

of the age.

I am there with you.

Listen to me carefully.

I want you to get

your hands around this.

The principal purpose

of this book

is not to give us

more information

but to bring us

face to face

with the lover

of our soul

and establish

a permanent,

personal,

genuine relationship

with the Lord of glory.

Do you understand that?

And when you read

this story about Jesus

and the storm,

you have to think

to yourself,

man,

if he put up

with those disciples,

I got a chance.

He loves me

and he is not

turning his back on me

in the midst

of the mess

and the heartache

and the difficulty

that I am enduring.

That's my Jesus.

Do you know that?

Do you know that?

And so my question

this morning is this,

truthfully,

I want you to think

of that.

Do you know him?

Do you know him?

I'm not talking

about chronology

of the Bible.

Well, I remember

that he came

and he did this.

No.

Do you know him?

Do you have

a personal relationship

with the Lord Jesus Christ?

And by the way,

how do we get that?

Oh, it's by going

to church

on a regular basis

and checking the box

that says I was there.

You know,

it's maybe I need

to be baptized

or maybe I need

to take communion

or maybe,

you know,

hey, listen.

Here's the way

a person comes

to a personal relationship

with Christ.

I want you to hear this

and get it clear

in your mind.

You come to a personal

relationship with Christ

with, first of all,

sensing the convicting

power of the Holy Spirit

that says I am a bankrupt

and miserable sinner

in the presence

of a holy God

and there is nothing

I can do

that can bring to me

credit and glory

and worth

and I stand justly

condemned before God.

the first place

that we come to

is an understanding

of our own unworthiness

and brokenness.

The second thing

that happens

is that the Spirit of God

gives to us

a conviction

that we can't solve

the problem ourself

and we reach out

by faith

and take the finished

work of Christ

when He died on the cross

in your place

He satisfied

the judgment

of a holy God

against you

and He is willing

to give to you

all the credit

of His holy

righteous life

and your sins

are covered

by His blood.

Do you know something

it says in the Bible?

It says that He only made

one O-N-E

one

one sacrifice

for sin

it's done

it's settled

it's permanent

and what does

the Bible say?

Whosoever calls

upon the name

of the Lord

say it with me

shall be saved.

Let's close in prayer.

Holy Father

we are

we are overwhelmed

with