The Lame Take The Prey | Pastor McGee

Amen. We're ready for him.

Hallelujah. Sometimes you just get homesick.

You ever been like that? Like a kid, maybe your first

time away from home and whoever you was staying with, you kind

of looked at him and went in that night hour when you should

have been sleeping and said. I want to go.

Home, huh? There's times in this old world,

I've kind of feel like that. I kind of look toward the Lord.

I'm like, I want to come home, Amen.

There's no place like home. Amen.

If you can stand with me, turn your attention to the book of

Isaiah 33. Good to see each of you, Zach.

Good to have you all with us tonight, Amen.

The House of the Lord, appreciative of that and those.

There's still some family members here visiting and grown

attached as an aunt to a niece and so on and so forth and

grateful for them tonight, Isaiah 33, going to read just a

few verses of Scripture. I'm going to start with verse

#20 your tonight. Thank you for being here.

I know it's cold outside. To the best of our effort, we

always try to make it warm in here.

OK. And so I know you had to leave

your house and get into either a code car or you warmed up your

car before you came, made your trip here.

Amen. And we pray tonight.

I know it's not in vain. It's not in vain.

Whenever we put ourselves in the position, Bible says that we

comfort one another with words when we gather together.

You said, well, Brother McGee, I could do that by cell phone.

But in the age in which that was written, that wasn't a

possibility. Which meant they had together.

They had together. Amen.

And so I'm glad for that tonight.

Verse #20 This evening the Bible says Isaiah putting pinned the

page. He says, look upon Zion, the

city of our solemnities. Thy nigh shall see Jerusalem a

quiet habitation, a Tabernacle that shall not be taken down.

Not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither

shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

But there the glorious Lord will be unto us, a place of broad

rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars,

neither shall galley ship pass thereby.

For the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our lawgiver.

The Lord is our king. He will save us.

Thy tacklings are loosed. They could not well strengthen

their mast. They could not spread the sail.

Then is the prey of great spoil. Divided the lane.

Take the prey. It's.

Kind of bitch. Betwixt in between couple titles

tonight on this, so I'll let you choose.

I'm either going to call this tonight the lane, take the prey,

or give him the ship. Either way is sufficient for my

purposes. Tonight you can smash them

together if you want to the lane, take the prey toll and

give them him the ship. Amen.

Want to talk to you tonight. Now listen, tonight we're on a

journey, OK? This is the reason why I say

that I know I read some peculiar verses from Isaiah.

All right. A little bit peculiar.

And whenever that happens, that means a lot of work is, is is

required of this guy on this side of the pulpit.

All right, so that might be some things you're not familiar with,

like how does this apply so and so forth.

So let's trust heaven tonight to help us.

All right, Let's trust heaven tonight to help us.

Father, I come to you. I'm thankful, Lord Jesus, to be

here. I'm thankful, Lord, for your

spirit. God, let that same spirit that

raised Christ from the dead, Lord God, let it sweep into this

building. God to the ministry of your

word. I know, God, you're able to

speak to us, know, God, what you've been dealing with beyond

Lord Jesus this week. Help me God, to adequately Lord,

articulate Lord Jesus, your word God, so it'll be applicable,

Lord, to each one of us in our lives.

God, I'll not fail to thank you Lord, for what you accomplished

in this place. And if anything is to be

accomplished, it will be because the Lord you did it.

Lord, you came through and you made yourself known in this

house in the lovely name of Jesus Christ that I pray

Hallelujah and Amen of the church.

St. name Amen. You may be seated tonight.

Isaiah chapter 33 was written. Several actually chapters of

Isaiah 33 · chapter mention

Isaiah in and around this area were written during an Syrian

crisis that was happening toward the region of Judah.

You can read of it also in some other places of scripture like

the kings. It was what was known as

Sennacherib. It was a king.

I know great names in Bible, you got to love them, but

Sennacherib's invasion of Judah? And as you read.

Chapter #33 This is one of the final.

Woe oracles to. Assyria, and it's at the same

time a song of hope unto Jerusalem.

There's a series of these woes that are mentioned from Isaiah

Isaiah 28 · chapter mention

chapter 28 to Isaiah chapter. 33.

During this time, Assyria was a very dominant superpower in.

Isaiah's day, it thought. Much of itself, many other

nations had. Failed.

Before it, whenever it came against them, and it assumed

that Israel would be like any other nation that it came

against as well. As a matter of fact in its

estimation. It was a force to be reckoned

with. It was a undefeatable.

Foe. And so before this confrontation

with Jerusalem. That we read up here in our

text, Sennacherib's own Annals. Of history record that they as

an Assyrian. Nation had taken out 40. 6

fortified cities of Judah. And they had determined in their

mind that Jerusalem. Would just be another notch.

On their belt, the 40. 7th city that would come to the their

demise they they had. Captured.

According to scripture they had. Captured the city of Lakish.

Which was Judas second most important?

City. And as there are and there was,

they exercised over that particular city.

You can read that there were deportations that happened and.

Executions that took place and. There were terror.

Tactics that they used against the city.

Release and stone release of Lake Esh even show and depict

that there were impalments of human bodies that happened

during this time and there were mass.

Imprisonments that took place and that the the Syrian Army.

Had put up their siege. Ramps and their battering Rams

against the city. Of Lake Esh.

And it seems that every attempt that that there was made Amen

for a treaty between any of these nations.

Between any of these countries with Assyria?

That they failed, you can read in chapter 33 tonight so that

you know I'm in scripture verses 7.

And eight that. Basically tell us that the

ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

And that was because no peace could be found, there could be

no treaties made. That the Bible says that he had

broken the covenant again because there were no.

Agreements that they can make. They were not being upheld.

They were not be substantiated. The Bible says that he regarded

but if no man again men, meaning two men cannot come to a table

with any type of agreeable terms for any type of peace.

As a matter of fact, it's during this time that the king of

Israel or jutor this northern Kingdom who by the name is

Hezekiah. The Bible says that he's paying

off. Tribute money to Sennacherib

He's. He's trying to just pay them off

to get out from underneath the thumb of this Assyrian foe.

He's he's given 300 talents of silver over from the palace.

And 50. Talents 30 talents of gold from

the temple but to no avail. He was still under the pressure

of the Assyrian army. The countryside of of Judah had

been ravaged. You read in Scripture that the

fields had been destroyed and the vineyards had been burned,

and some of the trade routes that they commonly use had been

disrupted in so much that verse 9 here in chapter 33 says that

the earth mourneth and languisheth in that Sharon was

like a wilderness, a deserted place.

As a matter of fact, we read in Scripture that an Assyrian

official will soon come to the city walls of Jerusalem and

begin to shout threats, not in the Assyrian language, but in

the Hebrew tongue, because they wanted every common man of the

city to be able to hear their boast and to understand that

they were mocking their earthly king and they were marked

mocking their heavenly king. And that official would stand

there and adamantly deny God's ability to deliver the nation of

Israel. And because of this, the

Scripture says even in verse #7 that some of the valiant people,

some of the brave people, some of the courageous people are

crying without, they're crying within the streets.

This is just the condition of Israel's time and Judah's time

under the oppression of the Assyrian king.

And then the, the Bible gives us this imagery, this description

that is found in verse #23 it's a description of the condition

of Jerusalem. And it is a true and a good

description. The Bible says that thy

tacklings, it's referring to Jerusalem and the people of

Jerusalem and the nation of Israel like a ship.

It says thy tacklings are loose. They could not well strengthen

their mast. They could not spread the In

other words, Jerusalem is present, she is intact, but she

is under a siege and she feels out of control.

She feels powerless concerning her environment.

She feels immobile. If I put it in modern terms, she

feels like a sitting duck and she cannot forge her own

success. You have walked with me just

here a little bit tonight. Imagine, if you will, the

imagery of the ship, the Bible says.

It's a ship with its. Riggings loose and its mast.

Is weak or shaky. And its sail is not unfurled,

but it's closed up. All of these three items that's

mentioned concerning this ship that the the tacklings and the

mast and the sail. These are three very essential

Amen items of a sailing vessel in order for it to be.

Able to sail. Amen.

Without these three serving their purpose, the ship is dead

in the water. It is subject to drifting, its

subject vulnerability. It's subject to being defeated.

Let me just break it down with you.

If you walk with me just for a little bit, it's the tackling of

a ship that speaks to all of the ropes and the cables and the

lines. Amen Of a ship that gives a ship

its control and its stability. Without a a dependable rigging

of a ship, the mast, that vertical member in the middle

that holds the sail. The mast of ship cannot stand

upright without strong fastened rigging.

For that matter, the sail of the ship can't be unfurled and be

brought out wide without the ropes and the cables that

attached to it, so it can somehow grasp a hold of the

wind. So a ship that has loose

tackling, it can float, it can drift, but it has no control

over where it's drifting and it has no control over where it's

floating, if you will. A ship that is without or has

loosened tackling is out of control.

It is at the mercy of both the currents of the water and the

currents of the wind. As a matter of fact, that large

vertical pole that you often see on sailboats, that's what's

referred to as the mast. It is that pole that supports

the sail. It is what is known as the power

column of the ship, because along with that mast and a sail

that is open wind power can be captured.

And then the power that is captured is distributed by that

strong pole to 'cause that ship to move forward.

But when you have a faulty mass, that means you have no power for

the ship. We look at that sail, the Bible

says, and it's not spread open, but we understand, we know that

a sail, its purpose is to harness the wind and it

determines the speed of the ship and it determines the direction

of the ship that sails going to help in the navigation.

A man in the progress of that ship.

But if you don't have a sail that's open wide, the vessel

cannot move forward. When you have no open sail, then

that means you have no movement. A man in a concrete direction.

So all three of these things, the tacklings and the mass and

the sail, they all work together.

They work in tandem. That that tackling's got to be

tight in order for the sail to be set and the mass to be

strong, to harness the wind to support and transfer that power

to a ship, to move it forward, you need a resolute mass, you

need a open sail, and you need tackling.

That is tight because a dependable mass cannot transfer

any power when it has a closed sail.

They all work together. Here's what the scripture does

not say. The scripture does not say the

tacklings are threadbare, they're loose.

The scripture does not say that the mass is broken.

It just says it lacks some support.

It's not strong. It does not say that the cell is

ripped. It just says that it's not

positioned to the open position. What that means then for us is

this, that what this ship is experiencing is no control, no

power and no movement. We're not looking at a damaged

ship. We're looking at a defeated

ship. What are you saying tonight?

But McGee, that's the Israel and that's Judo and and that's the

city. No.

I think OFT times it's a picture of humanity.

I think off times it's a picture of us.

It's a predicament that feels many times, all too often

uncomfortably familiar to human life.

Because off times on this journey even we are there and

we're not destroyed, but we feel effectively powerless as well.

We float with the wind and we're driven by the course of the

waves, but we have no means to govern ourselves or direct, if

you will, this vessel direction off times is lost and sometimes

our movement is stalled and we feel a little bit vulnerability

in the moment with each passing hour.

What are you saying, brother McGee?

Tonight I'm saying off times. We're just like that ship.

We have all the characterization of in a ship and we have the

stability of our faith and we have the stability of our

routine and we have the stability of our

responsibilities. But sometimes some of our

systems of strength and direction, Amen have come, if

you will, useless or out of control.

Sometimes as I journey through this land, singing as I go, I

feel like I am under siege and the pressure just mounts and the

fear invades my life. And a dark cloud of uncertainty

over clouds me. And there's threats with help

and there's threats with him. And I feel hopeless and I feel

helpless and my systems have failed and I feel like I can't

steer, I can't propel, I can't defend.

Stay with me. But wait, said it before, folks,

and I need to repeat it. The dilemma of the cell that's

not open and the mass that is not strong really boils down to

the tackling. Because the tacklings is

important for both the mast and the shell, it really boils down

to a control issue. Someone chain in it is the very

issue. Listen to me for.

A little bit. It's the very issue that Isaiah,

from chapter 1 to chapter 66 of his book that's been chipping

away at all alone. That's the reason why you hear

his boast and his pleas that there's no God like Israel's

God, that he's different from any idol God of every other

nation of the world and what they have manufactured.

It's why Isaiah constantly says that there is none beside him.

How this God of Israel is a God that works alone, a God that's

OFT times all by himself. Whereas he proclaims even in

later chapters that there are idols that must be carried.

But our God, Amen, doesn't have to be carried.

He'll you even when you are grey headed.

There is none like our God. But you got to understand

Israel. Israel has at times and many

times forsaken God forgot God turn their back on God.

If I can say it like this, Israel, many moments have fumble

the control issue of their lives when it comes to God.

At times they thought that they were better served by charting

their own course or choosing their own way, and other times

they put themselves in the vices of Pagan gods and false gods who

had eyes but could not see mouths but could not speak ears

but could not hear noses. Had they?

Yet they could not smell hands, had they?

But they could not interfere. Amen.

In the progress of human humanity, they had put

themselves in those places and those times.

Amen. But not too far removed from

this moment that we read in Scripture.

Even the Bible says that Isaiah is speaking to Israel.

And he says, listen folks, you've been trusting in Egypt

and you've been entrusting in what Egypt could get you.

You've been trusting in their horses and you've been trusting

in their Chariots. And that's the reason why Isaiah

stands in chapter 31 and he pronounces A woe.

He says woe to them that go down to Egypt for help and stay on

horses and trust in Chariots because they are many and in

horsemen because they are very strong.

But look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the

Lord. What are they dealing with?

They're dealing with a control issue.

That's the reason why even Isaiah spoke to them.

And the third verse of Isaiah 31, he said listen, you put your

trust in Egypt and the Egyptians.

He says Egyptians are men and not God.

He said their horses are flesh and not spirit.

Isaiah even argued to them. He said if you would lean upon

Egypt, it'll be as though you're leaning upon a broken Reed and

it's going to Pierce your hand. It's going to injure you.

Every other venture you have, every other hope you have, every

other God and solution and escapade that you have.

It's just a loose rigging and a weak mass.

That's the reason why that the prophet comes to a place and we

read of it. He convinces and he persuades us

in chapters that are being developed like Isaiah 32, and

one Isaiah begins to write about a king.

He says, behold, a king shall reign in righteousness.

And by the time we get to Isaiah 33 and verse 17, he's riding

thine eyes shall see the king. And by the time we get to the

verse right before the ship imagery, we read in verse #22

that the Lord is our king. Isaiah is doing something.

At first it's just a king, a loft somewhere, very generic.

But then he takes a category of a king among kings as being the

king. Hallelujah, a separated, set

apart king. And then he takes a little

closer. No, a king has become the king

has become our, Oh yes, our king.

And I think this shirt isn't the long thing.

I'm having problems with the sides.

So if we play peekaboo, you just cover your eyes.

We're going to try to prevent this, Brother Zach.

If I got to tie my coat around my, you know, lace, you

understand what I'm saying? I'm serious, Sister Amber, so I

got to take the whole shirt tail out.

We'll do it. Someone grab some duct tape and

we'll fix it up. There starts to be a prediction,

Brother Trout, about what happened.

What happens, though, when tackling is no longer loose but

becomes tightened and tethered to something that can have

control? There's a little picture that

starts to emerge from the places of Scripture of what can happen

when God is in control. It's a prediction.

We find this prediction early on and Isaiah 33 and five, it says

the Lord is exalted, for he dwelleth on high.

Yeah, field sign with judgment and righteousness.

I like verse six. Look at it now, follow it

carefully, and wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability

of thy times and strength of salvation.

The fear of the Lord is his treasure.

What's that saying that's telling us, Zion?

Whenever the Lord gets put in his proper place, whenever he

becomes, if you will, the Lord, the Master, the dictator, the

sovereign of your life, He says there'll be stability and

strength that will come back into Jerusalem.

And the secret weapon of Israel will not be her swords or her

bows or her arrows or her Spears for that matter.

The strength of Israel will not even be her weapons or her

earthly alliances or even her defenses.

The fear of the Lord will be her treasure.

Hey, man. That's why you'll read later in

the Psalms reflecting back on this moment.

He says some trust in horses and some in Chariots, but we will

remember the name. Oh, God, Isaiah is great.

The focal point of Isaiah. It pulsates with Isaiah's name

and the material that's written in this book.

Because Isaiah means the Lord is salvation is the culmination of

everything that this book of Isaiah is hedged upon because

materially over over again in the pages of the 66 chapters, we

are reminded of God's faithfulness despite Israel's

unfaithfulness. And we're told in this book that

God would not reject his people he created and he chose.

He says, because I've grave in you on the palm of my hands, and

Jerusalem, your walls are ever before my eyes.

That's the reason why in verse #20 of our text tonight, Isaiah

beckons to all who are in earshot.

He says, look upon Zion. She's a city under siege by the

Assyrians. She's oftimes removed from the

original intent that God has set her up for, he says.

But note the verbiage. But a Tabernacle shall not be

taken down. Not even one of her stakes will

be removed. No court shall be broken, Says

None of that's going to happen. I know what she looks like.

Whoa. I know seemingly what her

condition is, he says. But the Tabernacle won't come

down. The cord will not be broken, a

stake will not be removed. Look at the verbiage, lot of

imagery going on here in our text.

Unlike unlike most major cities of of the then known world, and

just of culture for that matter, they typically put major cities

by waterways. They typically put major.

Cities by by by by rivers for just the practice of sustaining

the inhabitants and sustaining the economy of that particular

area. You read through Scripture and

you see that Babylon has the great Euphrates river that they

can depend upon. You got Egypt.

They can depend upon that river called Nile with all the lush

things that would come upon its banks.

You can read of Nineveh and Urn. They boast of the Tigris River

that they had even a New Testament.

You want to read of Tyre and Sidon and they're along the

coast of the Mediterranean Sea. But when you read of Jerusalem,

she not so much even has a spring.

But I say it says in this location where there's seemingly

no water source. In verse 21, he says the

glorious Lord will be a place of broad rivers and streams.

The psalmist picks up on it and says there is a river.

The streams whereof shall make glad the city of God.

It wasn't a natural river. It was a supernatural river.

It wasn't something that you could feel with your hand and

get your hand wet. But there was a river and it's

here, folks, I'm named Tim. A sermon.

Yet it feels like here the ship imagery begins.

Look at the Scripture, because the Lord speaks that he will be

this river, this broad river, the stream.

But this word is spoken. It's imagery for the foe, it's

imagery for the enemy. It says on this river there'll

be no galley with oars or galliant ship pass thereby on

this river. In other words, there'll be no

enemy ships on this river. And yet then, equally speaking

about Dalliant ships, the enemy, or dally with oars the enemy

ships, is the contrast then, in verse #23 of Jerusalem as a ship

with no control, no power, and no movement.

But it's going to be according to God's word, that weak, that

withdrawn, that insufferable Jerusalem who verse 23 says as

the lame, because that's their condition.

Even in ship form, as the lame, they will take the prey.

And I stand back, brother Earl, and I'm kind of like I'm saying,

no, we got the condition. We, we, we know where it's at.

I'm in disbelief and partly shock.

No, not loose tackling, not a weak mast, not, not a unfurled,

not an unfurled shell. No, it's not moving.

It's not going on, not at all. And I asked the question how?

And it's verse 22 that gives life to everything that's in

Isaiah and life to everything that's in the Scripture.

It says for the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver,

the Lord is our king, He will save us.

A king have become the king, have become our king, he will

save us. And it's interesting because

side by side, right here in scripture, in 2 verses, we have

the qualities of their Lord right next to the compromise

condition of the ship. Understand again, Jerusalem's

under the steady stare at their adversary.

She's desperately lacking. She's lame and no uncertain

terms. But what she has done is made

room for her King again. Someone say Amen folks.

I'm just telling you, I don't believe this is coincidence.

I went to a service Friday night and went to somebody's

ordination service, got back that night, got in bed late, I

went to sleep. I woke up Saturday morning, I

already been entertaining the Scripture and some of the things

and the first thing whenever I opened my eyes, I heard the Lord

speaking to me the way God only speaks to me and he tell me,

hey, you need to check out the three aspects of God's office

compared to the three things in the ship.

So I went and I started looking to this because they said our

God, our judge, our lawgiver, our king.

First of all, let's look at this that throughout Israel's history

that had a lawgiver Moses, they had had some judges like Gideon

and Samson and Samuel dead, had some kings like Saul and David

and Solomon, and in all of these various offices that would lead

in command to be authoritarian in the life of Israel.

Now all of them are summed up inside of their Lord.

Have I with me? But take a little look here.

I won't hold you much longer when we read about loose

riggings, which no doubt reflects the loss of order, the

loss of restraint. Again, not trying to

oversimplify or talk to you like a bunch of elementary kids, but

riggings hold tension. It keeps the ship responsive

under pressure. And so whenever the riggings and

the tackling hangs and it's slack control is loss, the

structure weakens. But that directly answers to the

Lord as our judge, because as a judge he establishes boundaries

and he enforces order. Because where judgment is absent

and the system loosens, there's nothing that hopes firm without

proper judgment. I read of a unsteady mast

against it's a loss of structure, it's a loss of

authority. He mean it can't bear the sail,

it cannot channel the power, it's unstable, it becomes

dangerous. But the Lord answers that as a

lawgiver who defines the limits and defines the support.

Law gives power to the framework, and without it,

authority fails the unspread sail.

It's a loss of direction. It's a loss of movement.

It can't capture the wind. It can't turn that power into

progress. Without it, it's going to drift.

And the Lord is answering that as their king, because as a king

he will set purpose and he'll command action.

His kingship will give direction to the power, and without it

there'll be no movement without the king.

I did. OK.

What's that mean? His was in a deplorable state,

but they gave the ship back to the Lord and where they

seemingly looked as though they had control issues.

Something that's starting to command authority and structure

and order and power and movement now.

And so much read the story, whether it be in kings or here

in Isaiah of Assyrian Israel, and you'll read these words that

when Israel gets through all of this and they look back over

their shoulder, you know what they see concerning their battle

with Assyria. There never was one that they

had to engage in. For that matter.

The Bible says on the night before the battle as they slept

that an Angel of the Lord came down into the Assyrian camp,

brother Fred and struck 185,000 soldiers in dead of night

without 1 weapon ever being raised.

The Lord came in Jerusalem was never captured, the Tabernacle

was never shown the exit, the cord was never broken, the stake

was never removed. How?

Because they got their control issue under order and they

allowed the King back in on, you understand, it was a powerless

vessel, but now it had a reigning Lord.

It was a deplorable vessel, but now they had a reigning judge

and a perfect lawgiver and a sovereign king.

You would not think a ship like that to be victorious.

That's the reason why the scripture couches it in these

terms. Then when it came to the

dividing of the spoil of the adversary, it was the lame.

It was the lame that took the prey.

Not the strong, not the self confident, not the one that had

it all together. The lame.

How do lame take prey? It's when they give their

control, when they give their control over to the control of

another you and stand with me tonight.

I'll hasten to an end. I would dare to say tonight what

I felt in my spirit this week, that there may be some here

tonight. Amen.

You're symbol McGee. I'm not broken, but you just

might be tired of drifting. Maybe you're just in drift mode.

Amen. Here a little bit and there a

little bit. You're still floating.

You're still believing. And if you're honest with

yourself, you might even feel like you've lost somewhat of

your control. And since your rigging, your

tackling is loose, your mast is unsupported, your cell is still

folded. And you say, Pastor McGee, I

feel like I've been under a siege.

There is pressure on every side. I'm not destroyed seemingly, and

I'm not defeated. But in appearance, it seems like

I'm immobilized in my spirit. And I'm just telling you tonight

what God is trying to relay to you.

Hear me well is don't work on when trying to fix the ship.

You need to yield your ship, you need to turn over your ship.

Jerusalem didn't start tightening ropes and raise the

sail. No, they made room for their

king. The Lord is our judge, He is our

lawgiver. He is our king.

He will save us. Do you ever try to steer your

own life? How's that working for you?

You ever try to write your own rules?

How's that work for you? Choose your own direction.

Yeah. Come on.

How's that working for you? Has it wore you down?

The Spirit is asking us tonight. Who's steering your ship?

Come on. Come on.

Pastor, I'm getting weary from holding the wheel.

I'm tired of drifting tonight, Pastor, so remind me.

You can't do it on your own. You can't do it on your own.

We're here tonight at a place of transfer.

Lord be my judge. Lord, be my lawgiver.

Lord, be my king when I yield. Victory comes on the horizon.

When I yield. It's not my battle cry that's

sent some shiver down the adversary.

No, it's just the miracle of the lame taking the prey.

And that only happens when I give him my ship.

I would dare to say that the outcome would have been far

different had Israel not adopted him as their king again once he

got on board. It's just like all the great

stories of Scripture, The wind and the rain.

Rain is going to the New Testament.

Peter sees someone out in the water.

Is that you, Lord? Yeah.

Bid me come, oh quick, spoken Peter.

You know, he says, Well, come homeboy, go out on the water.

The Bible describes storm and everything's going like Jesus

and Peter both walk on the storm, you see.

But the moment Jesus gets on board, everything settles.

That's what happens when your ship gets yielded.

Bible says he saw them toiling in their rowing.

That's a control issue, but Jesus steps on board and what

looked like a married 12 or so, that wouldn't make it across.

The Bible says they got to the other side because the Lord had

become their judge, their lawgiver, and their king.

We have a choice here tonight. We have a choice.

We can struggle on this vessel, or we can yield this vessel

under the control of someone else.

You can push against the pressure.

You can fight with your little water pistol against hell, or

you can invite the Lord who's graving you on the palm of His

hands into your situation, into your dilemma, into your problem,

into your odds that are not in your favor.

I tell you what I'm doing right now because I'm already got a

little hankering against all of this sickness going on.

You know what I'm saying? Lord, come in the middle of all

this. Be our judge, be our lawgiver.

The Old Testament says where the word of a king is, there's

power. What did they say in the New

Testament when off time storms came out of softness upon the

sea? Said, what manner of man is

this? That even the winds and the

wave? Oh boy, his voice.

That's the power of a king. Aboard your vessel.

These altars are open tonight. You can bow your hands, raise

your hands, take a lap around the church, speak in tongues.

I don't care. I'm here to tell you tonight I'm

convinced. According to God's word, however

deplorable life may seem or feel, that the lane can take the

prey, that the ship that looks like it has no power, no

movement, and no control can get to its destination unharmed and

unscathed. As we give our ship to Him, as

we yield our problem to Him, as we I hear my wife saying, and I

wish someone would come with that on their lips, Hey, man in

the heart tonight, God, I give you control.

God, I give you control. And when God gets the control,

he'll sure up the power. When God gets the control, He'll

sure up the stability. When God gets the control, He'll

sure up the movement. He'll get fresh direction.

I don't have this gun, but you do.

Come on, Sir. You need to stop wearying

yourself. Stop.

Stop wringing your hands and snow.

You're going to be able to fix it.

You just need to heal control tonight.