Faithful Still: 9 Years of God’s Goodness

You're listening to the Bridgetown Church Podcast with

Pastor Casey Kendall, where our vision is Jesus, our mission is

people, and our cause is love. Thanks for tuning in.

Let's dive in. Great to see all of you this

morning. Nine years.

Let's go. Nine years of God's faithfulness

to us as a church. 9 years of God's faithfulness and testimony

to you. 9 years of grace. Nine years of mercy.

Nine years of God moving us into places we never thought we would

be and doing things we never thought He would do.

Nine years of justice, watching God do amazing works in our

midst. And I just want to thank you for

being here today. We are worshipping Jesus today.

We're pointing to him. We're celebrating Jesus and all

that He's done because he who began a good work in US is

faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.

We believe that if we miss Jesus, we've missed the whole

point of the service because He is the only one that has the

power to forgive sins because he died the death that we should

have died because He lived the life that we should have lived.

And not only did Jesus bear our sin, but he took upon the cross

and defeated hell and the grave. He rose again three days later

and we get to celebrate the fact that God is good.

In nine years. We've celebrating that God is

faithful still. We are part of a city that God,

I believe, is on the move with Pastor Kevin at Grace Glendora,

Pastor Johnny D here at Glendora Community, Amen, Pastor Bruce at

Cornerstone Fellowship here in Glendora, Pastor Dave at Church

of the Open Door, Pastor Gary who's at Glen Kirk.

God is on the move in this city, and I believe that we are part

of the story. We're part of God's story

because we never thought we would be in Glendora.

We thought we'd be in Pasadena, then we ended up in Monrovia and

then by God's faithfulness, we went to Duarte and then by God's

faithfulness through COVID, we ended up here in Glendora.

Whoever thought we would be in a building, Amen.

Right next to a park. So after this, we're going to

celebrate with a huge after party. 123 Burger Company is

here, handles ice cream will be here.

We have lattes that are free. You don't have to pay.

They're free for you. We've already paid for them,

grabbed them after church, our church gathering.

We have face painting today. It's going to be great.

That's for the children. But if you're still a child at

heart and you want to face your paint, paint your face.

Excuse me, Face your paint. Yes, that's good.

That's a good sermon title. Face your paint.

We want to encourage you. Take your kids over there.

It's all free today. We love you.

God bless you. Thank you for being here.

If you have your Bible handy, turn to the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14, the Gospel of Matthew chapter 14.

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

I'm only going to read one verse with you, but I want to go over

many verses with you, but I just want to set the scene as we lead

into today's gathering. You having a good time this

morning? Amen.

Amen. The Bible tells us in the book

of Matthew chapter 14, beginning in verse 31, Mark chapter 4,

Matthew 14 · chapter mention Mark 4 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 14, excuse me, verse 31, Matthew chapter 14.

Matthew 14 · chapter mention Matthew 14 · chapter mention

Let me get that straight again. Verse 31.

And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, and he caught him

and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

When they got into the boat, Jesus and Peter, the wind

ceased. And then those who were in the

boat came and they worshipped him, saying truly, you are the

Son of God. We have a custom here at

Bridgetown Church. If you would just look at your

neighbor and act like you're a preacher today and say,

neighbor, my neighbor, I'm going to make it through.

I'm going to make it through neighbor, my neighbor.

I'm going to make it through this past nine years, we've seen

some amazing things happen by the hands of God.

We've seen God sustain us in a place that we thought and people

told us that we would actually be ruined in.

We came down to a city and into an area that someone told us

that our kids would no longer walk with Jesus and follow Jesus

and they would become demon possessed just like Los Angeles

is demon possessed. That is not true.

We have come and saw amazing things that God has done.

He has packed houses with people that have a heart to fill and

seek His will. We've seen God fill houses and

backyards with people that have a passion to worship His name, a

desire to pray, a desire to seek His face.

We've seen people healed in front of our eyes.

We've seen marriages restored. We've seen prodigals brought

back to Jesus Christ. We've seen that God is faithful

still in the midst of everything that we've ever gone through in

our lives. And my whole message theme was

going to be that God is faithful still.

And as I was celebrating with all of you yesterday at our

first annual Bridgetown Bowl watermelon eating contest, water

balloon toss, we played volleyball and we got a little

hurt during kickball. It was so full of life that I

went from there into a house that was full of grieving and

sat by the bedside of one of the ladies who attends our church

who's in the final stages of her life.

And as I sat there, I realized that the question would not be,

is God faithful still? What God was asking me in

difficult circumstances is the question I want to ask you

today, and is that is, will you be faithful still, even though

you don't understand what you're facing, even though you don't

really know everything that you're going through, that you

will make it through because the power of God will accomplish

that because the presence of Jesus is with you.

And I want to ask you a question today that as you've come into

this place, will you just be a fan of Jesus or will you really

be a follower of Jesus Christ? I want us to come to the

conclusion with resolve within our own hearts and lives that we

are not going to be the one who was on the outside enthusiastic

with an admirer attitude, that we're going to be the follower

that has an adherent devotion to Jesus Christ.

It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer who once said these words in his

book, The Cost of Discipleship. He said when Christ calls a man,

he bids him come and die. And being a follower of Jesus is

not just about you going to church.

Being a follower of Jesus is not that you just raised your hand

during an altar call. Being a follower of Jesus is not

that. You have three different Bibles

and three different versions, and you've highlighted all of

them. Being a follower of Jesus Christ

is not just you. You were singing the worship

song. Being a follower of Jesus is not

that you just attended VBS or being a follower of Jesus isn't

just meaning that you wear Christian witness T-shirts.

Being a follower of Jesus is not that you dissed Harry Potter and

you loved Lord of the Rings. Being a follower of Jesus is not

that. You just kissed dating goodbye

and now you're giving yourself to every religious worldview of

that's around you. You see, being a follower of

Jesus is you are willing to give all of your heart because he

gave all of his life for you. And I am coming to a spot in my

life where the words of Paul are ringing true ever so much in my

heart that I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer

I who live, but Christ lives in me.

And the life that I now live, I live by faith and the Son of God

who gave himself for me. I believe in what Paul said,

that we have crucified the flesh with its passions and its evil

desires. I believe what Paul said in

Romans chapter 12 verse one, that we present our bodies as

Romans 12 · chapter mention

living sacrifices. Listen, it's his way, it's his,

His word, it's his worth. Out of nine years.

We exist to reach people where they are AT and to connect them

to everything that God has for their life in Christ Jesus.

In light of all of that, I love what Mr. Dahan said.

He said to come to Christ will cost you nothing, to follow

Christ will cost you something, but to serve Christ, it will

cost you everything. And so I asked ask you today,

are you just a fan or will you be a follower of Jesus Christ

because he has promised that you will make it through.

The question is not that you will get through.

The question is, is will you be faithful to get through what God

has called you into? You see, when we come to Matthew

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14, Matthew chapter 14 preaches a very amazing message

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

to us that Jesus is faithful. Still in Matthew chapter 14 is a

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

story in your Bible that you have often read on many

occasions. You've not only read the story,

you've actually seen the story laid out for some of us on felt

board, for some of us through Veggie Tales, for some of us

through Christian cartoons, whatever it might be.

You've seen this story played out.

And here's what happens when we're familiar with stories in

the Bible. We commit a crime as a Christian

and we begin to believe that God's Word can't teach us a new

thing. And so we begin often times to

gloss over the story. And what we often find is that

the breath of life in God's text has become dull to us because

the story has become so familiar to us.

So I want to ask you a question if you would just follow along

with me for a minute and that is this.

During the story Don't tune me out.

That was a good spot for an Amen.

You have heard the story. You've seen the storm.

You have heard the voice calling you out of the boat, out of your

security, and into the wild waves of your calling.

And will you be faithful still to all that God has for you?

Now, I believe in the story that we're in today is that God

allows us to have three mindsets in the midst of the story As we

talk about being faithful still to what God has for us, I

believe there is for some of us in here.

We could have the crowd mindset. We can have the crown mindset

when it comes to the storm. The crowd mindset is this

immediately Jesus made his disciples in verse 22 of your

Bible get into the boat and go before him to the other side

while he sent the multitudes away.

And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on a

mountain by himself to pray and when evening had come he was

alone there. The crowd mindset, notice in the

context of our Scripture, Jesus is just fed the 5000.

He has taken a little boy's lunch.

Can you imagine, moms, you've made lunch for your little boy

and all of a sudden they present their lunch to Jesus and Jesus

blesses it and he breaks it and the disciples distribute it.

They feed over 5000 men, not counting women and children.

And in the context, this is a very popular setting.

This is a very engaging time that this is a moment where this

little boy, it must have been just in awe of who Jesus is.

This is a moment where everyone's tummy is full,

everyone's heart is happy. Everyone's looking at Jesus

saying, will you be our king? And it's in the midst of this

that Jesus takes his disciples immediately.

And he made his disciples get into the boat.

He separates his disciples from the crowd.

Why is this? It's oftentimes because what the

crowd wanted was popularity. What Jesus wanted was purpose.

And so in the midst of our story here is the multitude that's

mentioned to us once in verse 22 and also in verse 23.

This is thousands of people that are celebrating Jesus for all

the wrong reasons. And there is for us a great

danger as a church and as our church grows, that we've become

in a risk of this where we become part of the crowd but not

really connected to the King. There's a danger for us in the

midst of all of our storms is that it's easy to hide in the

midst of a crowd. It's easy to hide in a big

church, but you are searched out in a small one.

And we like to put it this way, at Bridgetown Church, though we

might be small, we're going to love you large.

And you might have missed recently about 3 weeks and

someone comes up to you and asks you, where have you been?

I've been praying for you for the last three weeks.

Every single day. We pray that you might come in

here as a stranger, but you leave as family.

We pray that you have come to a place that you know that you can

hide, but you cannot be healed. We want you to come into a place

where you know that the love of God is for you, and that will be

expressed through His people. You see, here's the danger.

It's easy to appear as if you're connected, but you're still just

part of the crowd. There's a difference between the

crowd and the committed, and here it is.

The crowd takes what Jesus has. The committed stays for who

Jesus is. I'm going to say that again.

The crowd takes what Jesus has. The committed stay for who Jesus

is. The crowd mindset treats

Community Church like an automatic car wash.

I come, I shifted into neutral, I take my hands off the wheel,

and by the time I'm done, I better be all cleaned up for the

week ahead. No, no, no, no, no, no Listen,

listen. Commit yourself of Christ.

The invitation is to this when I talk about commitment at church.

Invest your time, your talents, your treasure into the House of

God so you will be transformed by the presence of God.

And in so doing you create disciplines and patterns and

habits in your pursuit of God. You see, the crowd just wanted

free food and all the things that came from His hand, but not

the discipline to stay close enough to see his face.

And I think the danger in the new year ahead of us as a church

is that we only want what Jesus has to give.

But we don't worship for who Jesus is.

And we can go through horrible times and terrible times.

In that terrible time, in bitterness of our own soul, we

distance ourselves from the God who created us and loved us.

You see, the crowd mindset brings us to a place where a lot

like Jesus, people want their pastor or someone that's a

spiritual leader in their life to cook the food, chew the food

for them, and prepare the food for them and bring the food to

their mouth. But here's what I want to

challenge you to do church. You have to feed yourself.

If we only come to be fed on Sunday mornings and we're

neglecting the Word of God throughout the week, I have not

done and fulfilled my calling. My calling is to point you to

Jesus and the authority of Scripture and what He wants to

give you. DCI could lead you to water, but

you're going to have to drink the water.

I could be the pastor where I, I, I, I, I have to fight the

urge of the crowd mindset because you have to realize

pastors sometimes can get into numbers but not into names.

And we could be all about that, which is big, but not really.

Live in the bigness and glory of God.

And I'm not saying that healthy things don't grow, but if I only

seek to build a big church without discipling the people in

the church, I've missed everything about what God has

called us to do. Did you see?

It's the crowd mindset. Where, where where you have to

realize that you have a story, you have some value to give, and

you have the opportunity to receive, but not just consume,

but to contribute to what God has for you.

Can I just share this today? Free food doesn't birth strong

disciples. Free food doesn't birth strong

disciples. They were there when it was

good, but what about when it was hard?

Where was the crowd in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Where was the crowd when Jesus would be hanging upon a cross

and burying the sins of humanity?

Where was the crowd when Jesus was being beaten and suffering

on our behalf? Did you see?

Here is a great question for 2025.

Who's in your life because of the free food?

Or who's in your life because of you.

And this is important because the crowd mindset comes to a

place where you you can watch everything that's happening

around you. But what happens when the food

runs out? Jesus has fed the 5000 and he

sends his disciples away. Listen and he says to the

people, get into the boat. Some people in the crowd.

Will stay until they disagree or they're offended, but this is

Jesus bringing his disciples to a new level.

I remember what Nimzi told us when she first came to

Bridgetown Church. She was our first convert.

She said. I came for the tacos, but I

stayed for Jesus. And we want you to come because

of the hamburgers, but we want you to stay for Jesus.

We want you to see that we love you and demonstrate hospitality,

but we want you to meet Jesus. We want you to know that he is

the only one that can forgive your sin.

Because I think a lot of times, I was at a high school once

preaching in it, a student said, hey, I got to go.

And I said no, no, no, you need to sit here.

He said, no, I'm just here for the free food.

I said, no, I have some food to give you that you'll never

hunger again. And I think we need to

understand that God brings us to a place where we will never

hunger again for the things of the world.

Will you be faithful still? And I believe we have an entire

generation of young people and older people who want to be fans

of Jesus, but not really followers of Jesus.

I think we live in a time in an age where people love what's

free, but they don't consider the cost.

We have a time where it might be a long time that we need to

follow Jesus, but we only want the good time to follow Jesus in

church. We come to a place, often times

in life, where church has high entertainment and low

discipleship, and I want to encourage us to press in to

multiply communities as a church.

I want to encourage us to come to a spot where we will have

deep formation as we follow after Jesus Christ.

Look what Jesus does. He's forming his disciples by

giving a separate and distinct identity apart from the crowd.

He separates them. No, Notice what he does.

This is what he does. Jesus could do more with 12 than

he could with 5000, and that is because of this.

It's not because of the size of the crowd, but the depth of

their commitment that will determine how God will use them.

So I ask you this question, will you be faithful still?

I just look at your neighbor and say I'm going to make it

through. Even when I'm not faithful, I'm

going to make it through because God's going to pull me through.

I could have a crowd mindset or listen to this.

I could have a storm mindset in here.

Listen to what happens in verse 23 through 26.

And when he had sent the multitudes away in Matthew 14,

he went up on a mountain by himself to pray.

And when evening had to come, he was alone.

The Bible says and but the boat was now in the middle of the

sea. Ever felt like you were in the

middle? Jesus is not around.

Can I just give you one thing I've learned over the last nine

years? I hope this helps you.

Jesus is silence doesn't mean his absence.

They're in the middle of the sea and notice what happens and

they're in the middle. They find themselves at the spot

tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

Now in the 4th 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's a ghost.

And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to

them saying, be of good courage. It is.

I do not be afraid. And then notice Jesus tells his

his men, get into the boat and I'm going to send you to the

other side. And when I send you to the other

side, I'll give you the destination, but I won't give

you your itinerary. I want to know the itinerary to

the destination. Jesus doesn't give them the

itinerary because if some of us saw the itinerary, we wouldn't

want to get to the other side. And Jesus says, I'm going to,

I'm going to get you to the other side.

And so here's the disciples all gathered together on a boat.

Jesus is up in a mountain and he's praying.

And here are the disciples and they're rowing.

And the Bible says that they were in the middle of the sea.

They were too far to go back and they were too far to go ahead.

You ever been where you've just doubted that God really called

you into something? You ever been in a place where

you're like, I'm too far into this right now, but I, I want to

go back, but I, I can't, I want to be single again in my married

life. I can't.

I, I want to know, I don't want to finish college.

I'm right in the middle of this. I want, I'm too.

I'm like right in the middle of it all.

Now notice what happens. They were tossed by the waves.

The waves at this time could be upwards to 10 feet high.

And the Bible says notice this, they were going against the

wind. The wind was contrary to how

they were rowing. So notice this, it's dark

outside. The waves are high and the wind

is against them. And notice what happens in the

midst of all of this. Jesus says in the beginning,

I'll take you to the other side, but I'm stuck in the middle now.

When I hit the middle, I often forget the promise.

But the promise was not just about a place.

The promise was about the process, and in the process of

what was happening, I could get this storm mentality.

And the storm mentality is this, that I measure the storm, but I

don't treasure Jesus. I measure the storm.

I'm consumed with the storm. I'm consumed with how big it is,

but I'm not consumed with how big Jesus is anymore.

And because now the waves are big, Jesus becomes small.

And I've seen too many people leave when they're right in the

middle of the storm because they aren't happy and because it just

gets too hard. I don't know if you if you've

ever seen that in life where it's just been the middle has

been the most messiest place for you.

But I believe God is not just about blessing, He's about

testing. And if I want the blessing, I

actually have to go through the testing.

I'm stuck in this situation. Financially, I'm right in the

middle. Maritally, I'm right in the

middle as a single. I'm stuck in my Lyme's disease.

I'm stuck in this house. I'm stuck with these kids.

No one in here. I'm stuck in my depression.

I'm stuck in this anxiety. I'm stuck and I'm tossed up and

down, up and down. The life that I live is contrary

to the life that I thought I would be living.

And the storm has come to me because of the will of God.

You're not outside of the will of God if you face a storm.

These men were right in the middle of where Jesus told them

to be. And because they were right in

the middle, Jesus knew the storm was coming.

Yes. Did Jesus directly put them in

the storm? Yes.

They were safer in the storm, in God's will than on the land with

the crowd out of God's will. Can I just say this to you that

security is not found in your circumstances, It's found in

your Savior. Can we just, it's hot outside.

It doesn't have to be too cold in here.

If you feel like the preaching is good today, just say Amen a

little bit. But listen, listen, I can't

follow when the heat is on and the rain's coming down and the

sun is not shining. Listen, God forms us in the

storm. God forms us in the storm.

And I'm going to make it through.

I'm I'm going to make it through according to the text, I'm going

to make it through. Jesus knew where they were,

Jesus saw where they were, and Jesus went to where they were.

You see, being formed so our faith will not fail is in the

midst oftentimes of the storm. The storm does not mean that God

is mad at them, or that you messed up or that things won't

get better. It just means you're human.

And in all of this, God makes his present most felt when life

seems the most difficult. And it's in this place where

Jesus arrives. Now Mark tells us that Jesus was

about to pass them by. How cruel.

I I was reading this this week. Like how what it was Jesus

joking with them like the Bible, Mark said that Jesus was about

to pass them by. What was he's like, hey guys, I

see you there. I'm in the light and there you

are in the midst of everything right now, and I see you there,

but I'm about to pass you by. I think sometimes we read that

like, God, you did pass me by. God, you put me here.

God, you're punishing me. God, this is too hard and this

is what happens. I think we missed the connection

when Mark said that Jesus was about to pass them by.

What he was doing was tying Exodus chapter 3 to Mark chapter

Exodus 3 · chapter mention Mark 6 · chapter mention

6 because when Moses wanted to see the glory of the Lord, the

Bible says that God told Moses to hide his face and the glory

of God pass by him. What the reality of the text is

teaching us is this is that in the storm, it wasn't just about

the revelation of the disciples, It was about the revelation of

Jesus. You see, in the midst of the

storm, the disciples would believe during this historical

time that storms were created by evil spirits and demonic forces.

And here is Jesus trampling over the one thing that was causing

them fear. And sometimes in the midst of

the storm, I want to be safe more than I want to see Jesus.

This is happening at the Bible says that the 4th watch of the

night. This is 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM just

before the breaking of the dawn. And it's here in this moment

that the size of the waves and the gust of the winds that have

Hanford the reality of life for the disciples.

But this is just before the breaking of the dawn.

And here Jesus, the Bible says he presents themself and notice

what they did. They cried out for fear.

It's a ghost and they cry out for fear.

And notice what Jesus does? He doesn't condemn them.

He doesn't say, oh come on guys, didn't you just see I fed 5000

people. He doesn't go to the disciples

and say what you guys thinking? Notice Jesus's words

immediately. Jesus spoke to them saying be of

good courage, be of good courage, be of good courage, be

of good courage. Why?

I could have a crown crowd mindset, I could have a storm

mindset, but I also can have a boat mindset.

No, no, no. Notice this, Jesus, there's a

difference between you being in a storm and a storm having you.

And I truly believe there's a difference in our lives where we

need to hear the first thing and see the first thing that Jesus

does. Jesus doesn't speak to the

storm. He actually speaks to the

disciples who have a storm within them.

And notice what Jesus doesn't do first.

He doesn't fix the problem. He doesn't bail them out.

He speaks directly to their heart.

And Jesus speaking directly to their heart as he's walking on

the water, He tells them be of good cheer, take courage.

He says, be of good courage, it is I.

And do not be afraid. No, notice this, that the term

be of good cheer and take courage means to radiate courage

from your inner life. And notice what he does.

He first doesn't rebuke the storm.

He rebukes their fear in the midst of the storm.

Because if I don't first deal with my fear in the storm, I'll

get into another storm and do the same thing.

And so Jesus brings them back to this place where he rebukes

their fear and says it is, I notice this, his presence, do

not be afraid. They're panic.

It's the presence of Jesus that diminishes the panic of men and

women because He is the author of peace and the perfector of

our own souls. No, notice this.

Being afraid is normal. It's a human response.

But carrying a spirit of fear is different.

Carrying an attitude of this fear is different, and that is

this is it. Your fear dominates everything

about you. In Second Timothy chapter one,

verse 7, the Bible says that God has not given you a spirit of

fear, but of love and power and a sound mind.

Will you just remember this as we celebrate today?

Will you remember this today that storms in your life, they

don't change you, they just reveal you.

And I think sometimes we could blame things on our storm, but

what the storm does is it just reveals what's already on the

inside of your heart. And that can only be worked

through if what's revealed is no longer concealed, but confessed.

And what God does in the midst of this is he takes our fear and

he brings it up to his presence. And that is this God taking what

is impossible and making it possible.

But here's the boat mentality. And that is this.

I could stay in the boat in all of my I fear, or I can walk in

courage. Listen, this is what happens.

Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it's you, command me to

come to you on the waves and on the water.

And so he said, come. And when Peter had come down out

of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

Listen. But when he saw that the wind

was boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink.

He cried out saying, Lord, save me.

Notice his cry. And immediately Jesus stretched

out his hand, and he caught him and said to him, Oh, you have

little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat,

when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

And then those who were in the boat came and worshipped him,

saying, truly, you are the Son of God.

Can you imagine the disciples with Peter?

I'd have told Peter, like Peter, be quiet.

Peter's like, Hey, Lord, if it's you, command me to be out of

this boat right now. All the disciples now in fear.

They wanted to be safe. They wanted to be dry.

They wanted to be comfortable. They wanted to be reassured, not

controversial. Don't ever say anything

controversial as a pastor because the word of God goes

against some things of our culture.

I would rather join Jesus in the waves than stay in the boat with

fear. I would rather, through this

journey of the last nine years, experience waves of revival

rather than waves of just my own safety.

I would rather in our church to walk out like Peter and put my

foot in the water, even though sometimes I might put my foot in

my mouth. I would rather a lot like Peter,

find myself a little bit crazy, a little bit loud mouthed, a

little bit more to say, Jesus, if it's you, we're going.

If it's you, Lord, we're going. And you might be sitting into

this place right now, and it might be that you are in the

middle of some deep, dark storm that the Lord is calling you out

of the boat to take a step that you never thought He was going

to call you to take. And that is upon water that you

never thought you could walk on. But when Jesus is present, he

brings us to a place where the storm might come.

But I'm going to put my eyes on the Savior.

And even though sometimes I feel like I'm dipping and drowning,

I'm going to reach out my hand and say to the Lord, save me.

Save me Now. Here's what I want you to

remember as we close this out after nine years.

We can stay in the boat or we can walk on the water.

One person believes that nothing irritates religious people more

than someone who leaves the boat of safety and is willing to get

crazy for Jesus. If not us, then who?

If not now, then when? If not here in Glendora, then

where the storm and the Savior are competing for one thing in

your life, your worship, the storm and the Savior competing

for the same thing, and that is your worship.

Will you be a fan or a follower of Jesus?

And I believe for some of you, it's time that you get out of

that boat. For some of you, it's not just

time you get out of the boat. It's time that you stop

listening to maybe some people that are in the boat.

Maybe it's time for you to cry out to God and see what God will

do in your life. I don't know if you've ever met

a man by the name of Steele Johnson.

Steele Johnson didn't make it to the Olympics in 2020, but he did

make the Olympics in 2016, but in 2009.

Still, Johnson had a horrible accident.

He was doing a dive, practicing a dive that was 30 feet up in

the air, and while he was jumping, he hit his head on the

diving board and he fell 30 feet unconscious into the water.

Brain trauma, he began to forget all types of things about his

life. And in this place, he decided to

do one thing and that was not to give up.

In 2009, in 2016, he actually in 2016, he got the silver medal in

Brazil for the Summer Games. But then now going for the

Olympics in 2020, he was hindered by not a head injury,

but a foot injury. And it was in this midst that

despite this injury to his foot, despite all the surgeries and

therapies that he did on his foot, it wouldn't heal quickly

enough, causing Johnson deep disappointment and financial

hardship. And he lost his spot in the 2020

Olympics. And it was agonizing for him, he

writes. But this year on this year,

excuse me, The Olympian, still Johnson took a deep dive into

God's faithfulness long ago. Johnson, he was nearly killed

unconscious. He eventually recovered and kept

diving. But this is what Johnson told

his fans due to this injury. I don't understand the timing of

this and may never know why the pain hit its critical point at

the Olympic trials, but I know that God is good and that there

will be blessings in this decision.

Listen to what He says. My identity is rooted in who

Jesus says I am, and it might take me a while to fill

contentment, but I'm choosing to believe that the Lord is

faithful always. I'm choosing to believe that the

Lord is faithful always. I'm choosing to believe over the

injury of our marriage that the Lord is faithful always.

I'm choosing to believe over the injury I feel like I've

experienced through singleness that the Lord is faithful

always. I'm choosing to believe in the

diagnosis of cancer that the Lord is faithful always.

I'm choosing to believe that in the pain of my depression, my

anxiety, and my fear, that the Lord is faithful always.

I'm choosing to believe with my children that the Lord is

faithful always. I'm choosing to believe to get

out of the boat and to walk on the water because the Lord is

faithful always. And so I ask you today, knowing

that Jesus came and he died on the cross for our sin, maybe

you've bought into the gospel of Jesus, but you never really sold

out for the gospel of Jesus. And in this nine year birthday

party, I want to call the church to sell out for the gospel, to

give in to Jesus, to get out of the boat and come and say, now

me and here, Lord, meet me now meet me here.

And do this again, Lord, as I step out of the boat and out of

my fear. And I want to call you to Jesus

today. You might have never walked with

him. You might have walked with Him a

long time, but I want to call you to take a step out of that

boat and experience the exhilarating power and presence

of Jesus when you obey His command.

We hope you enjoyed this message and we'd love for you to join us

in person every Sunday at 10:30 AM.

For more information and updates, visit

wearebridgetown.com. Thanks for tuning in and we'll

see you next week.