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Hey everyone. My name's Tina. And on behalf
of our team,
we are so glad you're joining us for refuge
church on the Valley CW.
If you're a guest this morning, I want to
give you a very special welcome.
Thank you for tuning in now, before service
begins,
we want to give you a few helpful tips for
our time together. Number one,
grab your Bible so you can follow along with
the scriptures in the message.
If you don't have a Bible, don't worry.
The verses will also be available on your
screen.
Number two, engage with us on our website,
social media,
or at online at [inaudible] dot com.
We'd love to connect with you to pray with
you and to care for you.
If you're joining us for the first time,
please let us know by emailing us at online
at [inaudible] dot com and most
importantly,
number three, turn up the volume and let's
get ready to worship together.
We love you and we hope you enjoy. Today's
service.
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Mmm.
Hey, refuge, church. It's good to see you
again today.
Welcome to week two of our, on the water
series. Nothing says summer,
like fun at the pole, the Lake or the ocean.
I love floating in the pool with the sun
shining on my face.
My family loves going to the beach and
playing in the ocean, Eli,
and I even love to snorkel. We snorkeled in
several countries around the world,
but probably my most memorable snorkeling
trip was in Belize with several of you
refuge family, seeing that beautiful barrier
reef. It was amazing.
All of God's handiwork was evident from the
nurse sharks to the barracudas.
It was amazing in this series,
we're going to focus on the miracles of
Jesus that were associated with water.
My theme verse,
I'm using a Psalm 42 one as the deer pants
for the streams of
water. So my soul pants for you, my guide,
you know, the Bible records,
seven miracles that Jesus performed
involving water in some fashion.
Last week, pastor Jason spoke to us about
Jesus.
His very first recorded miracle when he
turned water to wine.
And today we're going to talk about the
miraculous catch,
a fish and the calling of Peter James and
John,
as the first disciples into Jesus's
ministry, as told in Luke chapter five,
if you have your Bible, go ahead and turn to
Luke five. If not,
the verses will be on the screen.
Luke five one, like this, Jesus stood up and
cried out.
If anyone thirst, let him come to me and
drink.
Whoever believes in me as the scripture has
said out of his heart will
flow rivers of living water.
One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore
of the sea of Galilee,
great crowds pressed in on him to listen to
the word of God.
He noticed two empty boats at the water's
edge for the fishermen had
left them there and were washing their nets,
stepping into one of the boats.
Jesus asked Simon its owner to push it out
into the water.
So he said in the boat and taught the crowds
from there.
When he had finished speaking, he said to
Simon,
now go out where it's deeper and let down
your nets to
catch some fish.
Master Simon replied.
We worked hard all last night and didn't
catch a thing.
But if you say so,
I'll let the nets down again.
And this time their nets were so full of
fish.
They began to tear a shout for help bought
the partners in
the other boats. And soon, uh,
both boats were filled with fish on the
verge of even sinking.
When Simon Peter realized what had happened,
he failed to his knees before Jesus and
said, Oh Lord,
please leave me.
I am such a sinful man for,
he was all struck by the number of fish they
had called his.
They were others with him,
his partners, James and John,
the sons of Liberty were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon.
Don't be afraid for now home. You'll be
fishing for people.
And as soon as they landed,
they left everything and followed Jesus.
What an amazing tale.
How many of you have been fishing and got so
frustrated because
you didn't get a bite are simply frustrated
with life right now.
That's a tough question.
I know that many of us are frustrated in
this quarantine.
Many of us are frustrated by the events
going on in the world around us.
You're ready to get back to normal.
You're ready to get back to work for some of
you.
You're ready to get back to church services
in person you're ready for
people to follow social distancing roles.
You're ready for this world to calm down.
I think it's the season of life. Many of us
are frustrated with,
but this passage teaches us that our Lord
and savior pursues
the frustrated and when he does great things
happen,
who? According to Luke five, one through 11,
when God pursues,
the frustrated for things occur,
he shows how great his power is.
He shows our need for pardon.
He shows how crucial it is to adopt his
purpose and
how vital it is for us to follow him above
all
else.
Simon, Peter was frustrated. He was tired.
He was weary.
A night of fishing has proven very
unfruitful.
He's caught absolutely nothing in the
morning.
Jesus finds Peter washing his nets.
That's Simon, Peter. He tells him to launch
the boat and let down the nets.
Oh great. The rabbi's telling the
professional fishermen,
how to fish Peter initially objects,
but finally concedes let's look at what
happens when God
pursues a frust frustrated fishermen.
When God pursues the frustrated,
he convinces us of his power,
the miraculous catch a fish produces and
Peter,
a contrite spirit, as he marvels at the
power of Jesus,
the catch is so amazing that the nets are
breaking and the boats are sinking.
And in other words,
the point is this is an utterly
unprecedented catch a
fish and a location that seemed hopelessly
unproductive the
night before.
And it was caught at the powerful and
authoritative word of
Jesus.
He is able to do in seconds.
What Peter was not able to accomplish all
night.
The Bible tells us of other men and in women
that received glimpses of the
power of Jesus. Even in the old Testament,
Isaiah saw visions of God's glory and
greatness is told to us as a chapter
six,
Paul in first Corinthians has visions of
arisen and glorified. Jesus.
John has visions in revelation of the
exalted and risen Christ.
This power is in the word of Christ,
drawing people to the faith, drawing fish
into a net,
Romans 10, 17. Paul writes,
faith comes by hearing and hearing by the
word of Christ
at your word, I will let down the net, Luke
five five tells us,
Peter says at your word Christ, I'll let it
down.
The call of Jesus for these men was to
follow him through your
frustration. Jesus is calling you to follow
him.
This leads us to a profound awareness of our
own sinfulness.
The second thing our frustration teaches us
is when God pursues the
frustrated he convicts us of our sin and
unworthiness.
How does Peter respond to the miraculous
catch?
A fish depart from me for I'm a sinful man.
He says to Jesus,
ask the Lord to give you a growing awareness
of his presence,
as well as the keener sense of the depth of
your need for his
pardon at the end of ages. Think about that.
He died for you.
Mark 10 45 tells us he died for all.
Peter said depart from me. Oh Lord. For,
I am surely I am always a sinner,
but you know what?
Peter's sins. We're not betrayals of Jesus.
Thankfully our sand does not disqualify us
from service.
When God pursues us,
we can serve when God pursues the
frustrated.
He commissions us to serve him and to
participate fully in his
ministry.
That third point tells us there in verse 10,
Jesus said to Simon,
do not fear from now on.
You will be catching men or some
translations say fishing for people
acts 11.
19 says that catching men who will be
empowered to catch
others. That's what's told to us in acts,
God uses persecution to disperse Christians
throughout the middle East and Tom, maybe
that's what he's doing.
Now acts one eight says, but you will
receive power.
When the Holy spirit has come upon you and
you will be my witness in
Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and
to the ends
of the earth.
Peter sinks to his knees and all before this
mysterious figure
depart from me, Lord for, I am a sinful man.
In other words, I'm a sinner.
If you only knew to whom you were speaking,
my spirit is dull and heart is wary. Jesus
says,
then Peter said depart from me.
What does Jesus say to Peter? And to all the
disciples in the end?
How is it that Jesus would not depart from
Peter?
The same power that prompts Peter to fall at
Jesus's knees and contrition
and humble spirit. Now lifts him into God's
service.
But isn't it interesting how that Jesus got
into the boat to call Peter
out of the boat next?
What does Jesus asked Peter to do? What is
he asking us to do?
He's asking us to catch men, women, boys,
girls,
fishing for men gathering from among the
nations of people.
For his name gathering. Those who are
trusted in Christ alone for salvation,
phishing and shepherding are to enduring
metaphors and images of Christian
ministry.
Catching men for Christ is an endeavor that
the church has struggled with with
the past in the early church.
Sometimes God brings adversity into the
lives of the people so that they
might live to prove that Jesus is more
precious to them.
That even their physical lives ask the Lord
to show you one
person that you can pray for and befriend in
order to share Jesus
with them.
And then lastly,
when God pursues the frustrated,
he causes us to value him above all else.
His companions for sick
all and followed him.
Luke five 11 tells us the notes that Peter
note that
Peter said this, this is what it means to
follow Jesus.
He is more valuable to us than everything.
I count everything as loss compared to
knowing Christ
Jesus. My Lord, Philippians three eight says
I love this quote.
Let all who trust in the merit of the
Messiah's death,
be joyful at every remembrance of him and
let
their Holy gratitude lit lead the OMA to the
fullest,
consecration to his calls, says Charles
Spurgeon, Peter James,
John responded to the heart's overflowing
with the of knowing
Jesus.
When they had brought their boats to land,
they left everything and followed him,
ask the Lord to show you what it is that you
value more than Jesus.
Is it more valuable in your life? Is it
money? Your spouse, your children,
your career prestige pleasure.
For sure.
There's something that must be brawl and
laid down at the feet of
Jesus.
And it will alleviate your frustrations.
What do you need to leave behind to follow
the Lord Mo more fully ask yourself
that the Lord doesn't always bring our
frustrations to an end at one month,
one week, one year.
But if you are having something in your life
and you want to get rid of it,
lay it at his feet,
release that frustration. I can guarantee
you this.
The Lord is pursuing you in order to show
you four things,
how great is his power? How great is your
need for his pardon?
How vital it is to adopt his purpose and how
vital it is
to value him above all counts church.
I don't know what it is you're suffering
with right now.
There's many reasons that I know you're
frustrated.
There's many things that you're struggling
with right now, church.
I don't know mall, but I know God does.
And I think about that idea.
Sometimes God puts these obstacles and our
path to
spread us to the edge of the earth.
And our sole mission is to spread his name.
It's to love above all else.
Whatever is frustrating you right now,
follow Jesus,
ask for his pardon, lean into him church.
I want to pray for you because I think there
are some of you right now that are
frustrated.
Listen, if you're watching Labone online
right now, put in the comments,
pray for me. Submit that digital connect
card online and say, pastor,
I need prayer. I'm frustrated,
dear God, heavenly father, you know where
we're at right now? You know,
what's going on in our world. You know,
what's going on with sickness and core and
team a dear God and dear God,
you know,
what's going on with the frustrations of the
people your people got God's you
know, each and every heart out there right
now.
And you know where people are falling short.
You know what is causing frustration? God,
God here, our cross,
God, we need you more than ever. We need
your anointing. God, God,
we need your anointing because we want to
love people. God,
here at refuge church and online God at
church at my house,
we want to love people and God, we need your
anointing. God,
and we need your leadership. God,
God hear our frustrations and let us follow
you. God,
we love it's in your name. I pray. Amen.
But church, I think more importantly,
I think there are some of you out there
right now that are struggling with
frustration. So much and deep hurt that you
have, that you have to evaluate.
How are you following Christ as your Lord
and savior?
Have you made him save your of your life?
You know, that's a question I have to ask
you. And that's a,
a personal conversation that you have to
have with God. Listen,
if you need to do over a fresh start, a new
beginning,
if you need forgiveness for those things
that stand in the way of a relationship
that you have with God, if you need a
savior, he's there to save you.
I just want you to pray something like this.
If that's you pray,
God save me. God, I need a savior. God,
I turn it all over to you at midnight
that I'm lost without you. God. I believe
that Jesus died on that.
Cross is my sacrifice.
I confess I'm a center lost without you.
God save me,
Lord. I love you. It's in your name. I pray.
Listen, if that was you,
I need you to click on that digital connect
card and say,
I gave my life to Christ. I want to reach
out to you.
And I want to give you some resources to
help connect you,
to help you study and to help you understand
more about God and what it means to
follow him.
Church.
I'm glad we're here to get it.
I understand that many of us are frustrated
for many different reasons.
And the only solution I have to frustration
is Jesus Christ.
Our Lord and savior.
I'll go and be the church.
Thank you again for joining us this morning.
We truly hope our time together made an
impact in your walk with God.
If you made the life changing decision to
trust in Jesus as your Lord and
savior.
Congratulations following Jesus truly is the
greatest decision
you could ever make.
Please let us know by emailing us at online
at [inaudible] dot com,
we want to reach out and help you grow in
your faith.
Remember, our pastoral staff is always
available for ministry.
If you need pastoral care or have a prayer
request,
please submit the care and support
form@findrefugehere.com forward slash care.
And a member of our pastoral team will
contact you.
If you're a member of our church family and
would like to financially support
the mission and vision of refuge church,
there are three easy ways to give online by
text,
or you can mail a check to the church office
refuge church.
We love you and we hope to see you soon
person,
but until then have a great week.
[inaudible].

Hey everyone. My name's Megan. And on behalf
of our team, we are so glad you're joining
us for Refuge. Church on the Valley CW. If
you are a guest this morning, I want to give
a special welcome. Thank you for tuning in
now, before service begins, we want to give
you a few helpful tips for our time
together. Number one, grab your Bible so you
can follow along with the scriptures in the
message. If you don't have a Bible, don't
worry. The verses will also be available on
your screen. Number two, engage with us on
our website, social media, or at
online@findrefugehere.com. We'd love to
connect with you to pray with you and to
care for you. If you're joining us for the
first time, please let us know by emailing
us at online at dot com and most
importantly, number three, turn up the
volume and let's get ready to worship
together. We love you, and we hope you enjoy
today's service.
Good Morning Church family. It is so good to
be with you this morning. Please join me in
praying for today is our Church family
begins to host in person worship services at
our Athens, Alabama, and harvest Alabama
locations. We're asking God to do something
special, not only in our physical locations,
but wherever in the world you're watching
from whether it's your living room, the
airport, a hospital bed, or anywhere in
between, please know that Jesus is with you.
And Jesus is for you Psalm 42, one through
two says as the deer longs for streams of
water. So while long for you, Oh God, a
thirst for God, the living, God, I don't
know about you, but that's my heart this
morning. I long for God. I'm desperate for a
touch from him. And that's why we're here to
experience the power and presence of Jesus
Christ. I mentioned two weeks ago that my
family loves the water. Whether it's
snorkeling in the Gulf of Mexico, enjoying
waterslides at a water park or just hanging
out by the pool. There's something relaxing
about being around water. In fact, did you
know that pools are mentioned in the Bible?
They might not exactly be the same kind of
pools that we swim in today, but Springs and
pools popular, not only in Jerusalem, but
across the middle East. And that's the
setting for our Bible story today for two
weeks now, we've been examining miracles
that Jesus performed with
or around water. We've heard about Jesus
turning water into wine. And last week,
pastor Mark taught us about the miraculous
catch of fish. Today. We're going to turn
our attention to a place called the pool of
Bethesda. And we find it mentioned in the
gospel of John chapter five. If you have
your Bibles, I encourage you to turn to John
chapter five with me. We'll start in verse
one, but if you don't have a Bible, don't
worry. The verses will be on the screen for
you. The Bible says afterwards, Jesus
returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish,
Holy days, inside the city near the sheep
gate was the pool of Bethesda. With five
covered porches, crowds of sick people,
blind, lame, or paralyzed lay on the
porches. One of the men lying there had been
sick for 38 years when Jesus saw him and
knew he had been ill for a long time, he
asked him, would you like to get, well, I
can't serve the Sigma and said for, I have
no one to put me into the pool. When the
water bubbles up, someone else always gets
ahead of me. Jesus told him, stand up, pick
up your mat and walk instantly. The man was
healed. He rolled up his sleeping mat and he
began walking. I love this story. There are
so many things we can learn from these
passages, but let's start with the name of
the pool. Bethesda in
Hebrew, the name Bethesda actually means
house of mercy. This is appropriate because
tradition tells us that people who were sick
had physical disabilities or really anyone
in need of healing would go and wait by the
pool of Bethesda. At certain times, the
waters would bubble or be stirred up. And
when that happened, people would get in the
pool or have someone carry them to the pool
so they could get in the water and be
healed. Some manuscripts even say it was an
angel that would come and stir up the waters
to provide healing. Regardless we know
biblically. And historically people came to
the pool of Bethesda to find help and
healing from disease and elements. What we
see in this story is Jesus not only engaging
in an act of power, but in an act of great
mercy, you see Jesus was a man of mercy. And
I believe in these passages, we see how we
too can be people of mercy. If you're taking
notes first, you need to look for needs.
Look for needs. Let's face it. Jesus. Didn't
just stumble upon the pool of Bethesda. He
was always so intentional with his life in
ministry. Jesus understood the reason God
put him on earth and he spent every moment
trying to live out his purpose. And part of
his purpose was to show people mercy in Luke
six 36, he even instructs us to be merciful.
Even as your father is merciful,
it was widely known that people who were in
need of healing would be at that pool at
that time. So that's where Jesus went to
look for, needs to place himself in a
location where people needed to be
ministered to when's the last time you
looked for the needs around you not stumbled
into them, but intentionally opened your
eyes to the people in your life who are
hurting and in need of healing. The reality
is there are needs all around us. Sometimes
though we can get so comfortable in our
Christian bubble or we're so consumed with
the busy-ness of our own lives. We insulate
ourselves from all that's going on around
us. God, hasn't called us to sit around and
wait for needs to come to us. He has
instructed us to be people of action and
being a Christian. Isn't a defensive
position. We are on the offense. We are
actively engaged in kingdom work. We are
bringing heaven to earth each and every day.
And we can only do that by being alert and
aware of what's going on in our communities
and in people's lives. If you don't know
where to start, I'd love to help you like
the pool of Bethesda. There are places in
our own communities. People go to for help
and healing places like the hospital,
homeless shelters, food banks, free medical
clinics, addiction, recovery centers, or
domestic violence shelters, or maybe on a
more individual level. You
may know someone who has been diagnosed with
cancer or had a loved one pass away, or has
recently lost their jobs. Our promise you
the needs are there. You just have to look
next. We need to get uncomfortable. Get
uncomfortable. Imagine that the pool of
Bethesda was an uncomfortable place to be
one because there were people there who were
ill. Healthcare was not advanced at this
time. People didn't want to get sick.
Hygiene rules were even an important part of
Jewish law. Not only that there would be
people there with sores infections and
injuries, and it would have been pretty
discouraging to see so many people
struggling. Yeah. That's exactly where we
find our Jesus. Jesus was comfortable with
getting, we even see him engage in an
uncomfortable conversation, which is reason
enough for most of us to say I'm out of
here. Or frankly, I feel like that's one of
the main reasons we're cautious to engage in
people's lives because we're afraid that
we're not going to know what to say many
times. Listen, many times being present is
more powerful than any words that you can
say, listen, Jesus has done his best work
and my life when I was uncomfortable. Is it
comfortable holding the hand of someone who
is dying to ensure that they don't die
alone? Is it comfortable to sit by the bed
of someone actively going through detox? So
they know someone supports them? Is it
comfortable
being the first person to arrive at
someone's house after their loved one ended
their own life? Is it comfortable casting
out demons in Jesus's name on an
international mission trip? No, it's not
comfortable, but these are moments that I
will never forget because I saw Jesus show
up in ways I've never seen before. Maybe
it's time for you to move out of your
comfort zone. Go serve a meal at the local
homeless shelter or food bank, volunteer at
your local hospital or free clinic. Be a
mentor for a woman trying to get on her
feet. After years of trauma, we will reach
people. No one else is reaching only when
we're willing to do what no one else is
doing. Lastly, change someone's life. The
Bible says that one of the man lying by the
pool of Bethesda had been paralyzed for 38
years. When Jesus asked him if he wanted to
get well, he said he had no one to help him
get to the pool, to be healed. Think about
that. It breaks my heart. Here's a person in
need of help for 38 years, he suffered and
he didn't have anyone to help him. And it
just so happens. That's exactly why Jesus
was there and Jesus, he didn't need the pool
of Bethesda. Jesus said get up. And at his
word, the man was immediately healed. Jesus
changed the man's life because Jesus was
willing to show mercy and we should
show mercy to Andy Stanley. Once said, you
may not be able to change the world, but you
can change someone's world. And that's my
challenge to you. Show mercy, look for
needs. Get uncomfortable change someone's
life. You never know the great impact you
may have. Get in line at a fast food
restaurant and buy lunch for the person
behind you. Step a $20 bill and a box of
diapers at the store for an unsuspecting
single mom cut the yard for a widow in your
neighborhood who recently lost her husband,
schedule a fishing trip for the kids whose
dad is serving overseas. Throw a party for
children, living at the local homeless
shelter. Children's home bait treats and
take them to first responders, get going,
get creative and above all, do whatever you
do in Jesus's name. Jesus. His mission was a
mission of mercy and it didn't stop at the
pool of Bethesda. Jesus continued to meet
physical, emotional, and spiritual needs his
entire ministry. Then in his greatest act of
mercy, he made the way for our deepest need
to be met. The need to be saved. Well,
Jason, what are you talking about? What do I
need to be saved from? The Bible says that
all of us are born sinners. Every one of us,
myself included it is our human nature to
want to rebel against God, to do our own
thing, to live life our own way. And our God
is
a Holy God. He is a righteous God and sin
cannot be in his presence. And God loved you
so much. The Bible says that he sent his son
Jesus Christ on this mercy mission to live a
perfect life, to never do anything wrong. To
teach us how to live the show, us how to
love. And Jesus gave himself up to die on a
cross because blood had to be spilled so
that we could be forgiven so that we can be
reconciled to God so that we can have a
relationship with him again. And in his
great mercy, he gave up his life on that
cross. But the beautiful thing is, is that
Jesus did not stay dead. And three days
later, the Bible says that he Rose again
from the grave. And he proved to everyone
that he is exactly who he said. He was the
son of God and the flesh. And he Rose in
victory over sin and victory over the devil
and victory over death. And because of what
Jesus did, when we die, we can now go to
heaven to be with God. We can have a
relationship with God I can't, but the
decision is yours. It's not something that
anybody can make for you. Listen, if I could
decide Jesus for you, I would do it in a
heartbeat because I know what Jesus has done
in my heart and my life. And I want to see
you in
heaven one day, but I can't make that choice
for you. And I want to ask you, you're
listening wherever you're watching from. Do
you need to give your life to Jesus? Do you
need to decide to follow him? And if you do,
thankfully, it's easy. There's nothing we
can do to get to God. God has already come
to us. And I want to invite you. If that's
you, if you say Jason, I need to give my
life to Jesus. I need to follow Jesus. I
want to make that decision today. I want to
pray a prayer. And if this prayer reflects
what God is doing in your life, I invite you
to pray it with me. You can pray something
like this. God I've been going my own way
with my life. I've been doing my own thing
and father, I know that something is missing
and the thing that's missing is Jesus. I
need a savior. God. I believe that Jesus
lived a perfect life, that he died on a
cross for my sin and that he Rose again from
the grave and he's still alive and he's
still changing lives. God would you change
my life today? Will you forgive me and
change me and set me free from my sin.
Jesus. I want to follow you for the rest of
my life. Jesus. I love you in Jesus. It's in
your name. I pray. Amen. If that was you,
that is the
greatest decision that you could ever make
with your life. You are forgiven. You are
free. You are a child of God. You have a
home in heaven waiting on you. You're now my
brother or sister in Christ. And I'm so
thankful for what God has done in your life.
But I want to ask you, please don't turn
this video off. Don't change the channel
without letting us know. Please reach out to
us. If you're online, you can reach out by
commenting in the comments right underneath
of this video. Or maybe you need to email
us. You can do that on our website. That
email address will be on the screen. Listen,
we want to just reach out to you this week.
We want to give you some things. That'll
help you grow in your faith. We want you to
know that we're for you and we love you. And
Jesus is for you. And he lives here at the
end of every service together. We dedicate a
time to prayer because we believe that
prayer works. We believe that prayer has
power. And what I want to do this morning is
I want to pray for people who are watching
and people that maybe we don't even know yet
that are hurting, that have needs. And let's
ask God, not only to meet those needs, but
to use us to make a difference in people's
lives. Jesus. We love you. And in this
moment we
worship you. We magnify your name. Oh God,
we thank you for the cross. But more
importantly, we thank you for that empty
tomb. Jesus and we thank you that you were a
man of mercy, a man of compassion, a man of
love and father. We pray that we too would
be people of mercy. People of compassion,
people of love, people who want to bring the
kingdom to earth. People who want to see
heaven happen each and every day. Jesus,
would you empower us to make that kind of
difference? Would you help us see the needs
around us? Oh God, would you help us? Not
only to see those needs, but would you help
us to act to actively change lives? Jesus
father, I pray for people well, who are
watching and God that you have a call on
their life. You have a purpose for them.
God, I pray in Jesus name that even in this
moment, they would understand that they are
here for a purpose. And that purpose is to
make a difference. God, would you empower
them to the power of your Holy spirit to
complete the purpose you've called them to
and Jesus, I pray for those who are
listening or watching. And right now God,
they are walking through tough times. They
have great needs, father Jesus name. Would
you meet people right with their ad? Would
they know that they are loved, that you are
Jehovah, Gyra, their provider,
and God would you use us to make a
difference in Jesus. We love you. And we're
going to give you the honor and we're going
to give you the book glory for what you do
and it's in your name. We pray. Thank you
again for joining us for this morning
service. We truly hope our time together
made an impact in your walk with God. If you
made the decision to trust in Jesus as your
Lord and savior. Congratulations following
Jesus truly is the greatest decision you
will ever make. Please let us know by
filling out the digital connect card, we
want to reach out to you and help you grow
in your faith. Remember our pastoral staff
is always available for ministry. If you
need pastoral care or have a prayer request,
please submit the care and support form at
refuge.com/care. And a member of our
pastoral team will contact you if you are a
member of our church family and would like
to financially support the mission and the
vision of Refuge Church there are three ways
to give online by text, or you can mail a
check to the Church office. Refuge Church we
love you. And we hope to see you again soon,
but until then have a great week..

everyone. My name's Megan. And on behalf of our team, we are so glad you're joining us
for refuge church on the Valley. CW. If you were a guest this morning, I want to give a
special welcome. Thank you for tuning in now, before service begins, we want to give you
a few helpful tips for our time together. Number one, grab your Bible so you can follow
along with the scriptures in the message. If you don't have a Bible, don't worry. The
verses will also be available on your screen. Number two, engage with us on our website,
social media, or at online at dot com. We'd love to connect with you to pray with you
and to care for you. If you're joining us for the first time, please let us know by
emailing us at online at dot com and most importantly, number three, turn up the volume
and let's get ready to worship together. We love you and we hope you enjoyed today.
Service. I want to be hello, close to your side to heaven. And death is a long to hear
voices. The veins seeing as well yeah. Whoa. The, Oh the God almighty the grade. I am
the gun beside the God almighty the grade. I am want to be loving new hating on the C
drive home. mountain shape before you the team is rod and plea at the mention of your
name. King of bouncing shape team is rod and
add the mention of your name. Oh, Lord my God. When I heard I see the story. I hear the
role power through the universe and that God, his son not spare rig santown to God. How
good? No. When cry shot Hey, church, family. Good morning. Thank you so much for making
time to worship Jesus with us today, I've been praying for you all week long that God
would protect you and encourage you and bless you. And I've been praying for our time
together today that God would speak to each of us in a powerful way. As they have 55, 11
says it is the same with my word. I send it out and it always produces fruit. It will
always accomplish what I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere. I send it a few
weeks ago. I shared this verse with you in the context of one of our sermons, but I
think it is an important reminder this morning. God's word is going to prosper anywhere.
He sends it. So let's position ourselves to let it prosper in our hearts today. Jesus is
alive. Jesus is here and Jesus wants to change our lives in these next few moments
together. Now last summer, I had the opportunity to lead a mission trip to Belize, to
minister and hospitals and addiction, recovery ministry, and provide a Jesus centered
sports camp for children. At the end of the week, before we came home, our
team had the chance to go snorkeling off the coast of Caye caulker in the Caribbean sea.
Shout out to all of our friends, watching from Billy's by the way, snorkeling and
beliefs was incredible. The beautiful, clear water, the sea life, the coral reefs. I'll
never forget it. I'll also never forget the storm that seemingly came out of nowhere.
The winds picked up and it poured rain so hard. You could barely see your hand in front
of your face. We tried to get back on the boat, but the waves made it too dangerous. So
we had to stay in the water. All I could think about is that we had 24 members of our
team and the water, and I couldn't see them to make sure they were okay for a moment. I
was panicked inside. I'm not sure why a panicked Cod had been so good to us all week
long. We experienced God moment after God moment while we were there. Why should this
moment be any different? Thankfully, we were all fine. And as the storm passed, we were
able to continue our snorkeling excursion. Now this story reminds me of a story found in
Matthew chapter eight. And this morning we're finishing our series called on the water
where we've been looking at how Jesus did miracles with and around water. And I can't
think of a better story to end on than the story of Jesus calming the storm. Let's start
with Matthew chapter eight beginning in verse 23, it says then Jesus got into the boat
and started across the Lake with his disciples. Suddenly a fierce storm struck the Lake
with waves, breaking into the boat, but Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke
him up. Shouting Lord, save us. We're going to drown. Jesus responded. Why are you
afraid? You have so little faith that he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves. And
suddenly there was a great call. The disciples were amazed, who is this man? They asked
even the winds and the ways obey him. We know from reading other gospels, that this
story took place on the sea of Galilee in Israel. The sea of Galilee is about 13 miles
long and eight miles wide. And it was not unusual for terrible storms to unexpectedly
sweep across the waters. We know that it must have been a bad storm because Jesus, his
disciples, many of whom were professional fishermen were so terrified that they thought
they were about to die in the store. Have you ever been there? Have you ever experienced
fear or panic in your life to the point that you didn't think you'd be able to make it
through whatever storm you're experiencing? We all experienced storms in life. Things go
wrong. Tragedies happen. The unexpected comes our way, but just because something takes
us by surprise, does it mean that it's taking Jesus by surprise? Jesus. Undoubtedly
knew the storm was coming on the sea that day and he could have prevented it. I think
it's important to point out that Jesus, his disciples face the storm after they had
obeyed him. So clearly there was a lesson for them to learn. And I believe there is a
lesson for us today. I want to answer the question this morning. How do I find peace and
unexpected storms? If you're taking notes, number one, go get Jesus, go get Jesus.
Sometimes I think that we forget that Jesus is in the boat with us. No matter what we're
going through, no matter how bad it seems, Jesus hasn't forsaken us. Jesus hasn't left
us. Jesus is still in the boat, but sometimes Jesus waits for us to make the first move.
And this story, John says that Jesus was asleep. Can you imagine it's one of the worst
storms they've ever seen? They all think they're going to die and where's Jesus. He's
snoozing. Jesus could have prevented the storm. He could have stopped at any time he
wanted, but he waited until the disciples came and got him first. That is a word for
somebody today. You feel like your world is falling apart. Listen, it is time for you to
make the first move. It is tough to go get Jesus. Sometimes I think we try to do things
in our own power and let Jesus be our last resort. I'll go through my checklist
of everything I can do or talk to everyone I knew to talk to in order to fix the
situation. When really what I need to do is go get Jesus. First. Jesus should always be
our first priority and never our last resort. Matthew six 33 says it this way, seek the
kingdom of God above all else and live righteously. And he will give you everything you
need. Some translations say that all these things will be added. Everything will fall
into place. The next step to have peace and unexpected storms is just to talk to him.
You see, it's not enough just to go get Jesus. We need to talk to him to tell him what's
going on. To let him know that we're afraid and why the Bible says that the disciples
were actually shouting at Jesus. Lord, save us. We're going to drown. It's ironic that
when we need help, the most, we typically seek help. The least our natural tendency is
to run away from Jesus rather than to run to him. But the disciples model for us, the
importance of taking our problems, our fear and our anxieties to the Lord. In fact, the
Bible teaches us the formula for peace in the book of Philippians, Philippians four, six
through seven says, don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything, tell God
what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace,
which it seeds.
Anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in
Christ. Jesus. This is a verse that I committed to memory years ago. And it's a verse
that has carried me through so many tough times in my life. I have resided it out loud.
I've reflected on it in my heart. It is not just a feel good saying it is a promise from
God. We need to take a moment and make a conscious decision to stop worrying. Then we
talked to Jesus, tell them your needs. Be specific, be real, be raw it's okay. Jesus can
handle it. Thank him for what he's already done in your life. Then you will experience
peace, a peace, mind you, that will exceed anything you can understand. Sometimes we
need to turn off the TV, get off of Facebook, put down the phone and talk to Jesus. He
is our pathway to peace and I would take it a step further and encourage you to make
talking to Jesus, a regular part of your daily life. Not just something you save for
emergencies, be intentional, make time to pray. Finally, rest in his response. And this
story, Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the waves. And just as suddenly as the
storm came, it stopped. Jesus literally brought peace to the storm, but we have to
understand that sometimes Jesus brings peace to the storm and sometimes he brings peace
to you
during the storm. Sometimes the storm will stop. Sometimes it'll keep on raging, but
instead of panic, you will be consumed by peace. I've experienced it in my own life.
There have been moments where God has immediately intervened. And there have been times
when I've had to endure, knowing that my heart was being guarded by the peace of Christ.
Our job is to rest in his response to have faith, to trust him. One of my favorite
verses in the Bible is John 13 seven. This is Jesus talking. He says, Jesus replied, you
don't understand now what I'm doing, but someday you will. He said, we can have peace in
knowing that even though I don't understand what Jesus is doing in my life, he is doing
something. And someday in his timing, in his sovereignty, in his wisdom, I'll understand
what Jesus was doing until then. I'll rest in Jesus's response, knowing that his
thoughts are higher than my thoughts, that his ways are higher than my ways. We may not
always agree with the way Jesus operates, but I truly believe he always has our best in
mind. After Jesus called the storm. I love the disciples reaction. John writes that the
disciples were amazed, who is this man? They ask even the winds and the waves obey him.
Sometimes we just need to be reminded that the power inside the boat is greater than the
power outside of the boat. And that's just what
Jesus did, but his power, it doesn't stop there. Not only does Jesus want you to have
peace in this life. Jesus provides you a way Def peace with God and maybe you're
watching, maybe you're listening. And you know, that is something missing in your life.
You do not have peace with God. You don't have peace in your relationship with him. You
don't have peace and knowing who he is, you don't have peace in knowing where you would
go after you die. Listen, today you can have peace, not only in this life, but you can
have peace in your eternity. The Bible says that for God. So loved the world. He gave
his one and only son that anyone who believes in him shall not perish, but will have
ever lasting life. You see you and I we're sinners. Every one of us, we do things. We
think things, we say things that disappoint and disobeyed God, they go against his
character. They go against his word. We rebel. We want to do life our own way and our
own timing. We want to be our own boss, but God has a better way. God has a best life
for us. And the only way to get there is through trusting in his son. Jesus Christ. You
see everyone is destined for hell because of our sin, but because of God's great love
for you. And God's great. Love for me. He provided a way that
we would not have to experience sell, but instead we can experience any eternity with
him and to heaven. And not only that, we could have his spirit come and live inside of
us so that we could experience heaven on earth each and every day. But it's a decision
that we have to make to trust in Jesus and follow him with our lives to say, God, I
believe you know, better for me than I know for me. And I want to live my life following
you. God sent Jesus to live a perfect life, to die on a cross, to buy our forgiveness
and freedom. And three days later to rise again from the grave to prove to everyone that
he was truly the son of God. And he has the ultimate victory. Jesus is alive. He wants
to change your life. He wants to give you a second chance. He wants you to have a fresh
start. He wants you to have peace today. Will you trust him? If that's you and you want
to make the decision to follow Jesus today, I invite you to pray a prayer with me. If
this prayer reflects what Jesus is doing in your heart, God today, I realized that I'm a
sinner. I've said things. I've thought things. I've done things that disappoint and
disobeyed you and your word. He got. I realized today, I don't have the peace in my
relationship with you. God, I don't know
where I'm going when I die, but God, I want to have peace. So father, I want you to
know. I believe that Jesus died on a cross for me. And I believe he Rose again from the
grave so I could be forgiven and I can be set free and I could have peace with you so
that we can have a relationship. God, God, today I choose Jesus. Would you forgive me?
Would you change me? God, thank you for my fresh start. Jesus. I love you. And I want to
follow you for the rest of my life. And it's in Jesus name. I pray. Amen. That was you.
You are forgiven. Uh, you're different. You're a brand new person in Jesus Christ. You
can have your fresh start beginning right now in this moment. I just want to ask you,
please don't change the channel. Please don't turn this video off without letting us
know that you made that decision to follow Jesus because we want to help you grow in
your faith. We want you to become everything God has created you to be. We want to help.
So if you're online, I want to ask you to just let us know in the comments or fill out
that digital connect card. If you're watching on the website or on TV, the email address
is going to be on the screen. Please reach out to us and let us know because we love
you. And
we are for you. And Jesus loves you. And he's for you. At the end of each service, we
intentionally set aside time for prayer. You see there's a word in scripture called
Holi. And a lot of people think that Holy means perfect, but that's not what it means at
all. Holy means to be set apart, to set something apart and that's what we want to do
right now. We want to set apart time to pray. We want to have this Holy moment together
with God. And I know that you may be watching and maybe you're a part of our church,
family. And I know who you are and I know your story, but maybe you're watching and we
haven't had the opportunity to meet yet. I don't know what's gone on in your life.
Listen, God knows. He loves you. He knows your situation. He knows your circumstance.
And in this moment I believe he will meet us in his power and presence can change us.
Listen, a moment with Jesus can change everything. So I want to pray for you. I want to
pray for peace for you. I want to pray for your situation, whatever you're going
through, that God would intervene and just be God, Jesus. We love you. I thank you for
our church family. I thank for our guests. I thank you for those who were gathered in
buildings. I thank you for those who were gathered in homes or
in airports or hospital rooms or wherever they're at God, thank you that your presence
is with us. You are a manual. You are God with us. Your word says, father, I thank you
that your word says that you are peace. You are the Prince of peace and no matter what
we go through, no matter the trials and tough times we experienced because of Jesus. We
can have true unexplainable, abundant peace in our lives. God, we thank you for the
times that you stop the storms. But God, we also thank you for the times that you are
with us in the store. And God, I pray for people right now who were in the middle of the
storm. They feel like they are going to die. They feel like everything is falling apart.
And the name of Jesus would you send a spirit of peace into their lives, into their
hearts, through the power of your Holy spirit. God, would you be their Prince of peace?
Would you move peace their way while they're out? Pray for those who are watching or
listening, who just have needs. They have physical needs, emotional needs, spiritual
needs. God, I pray that you would be their need meter God, that you would be their
provider, father, that even in their situation, you would give peace. But God, you would
also give provision where people need joy. God would you pour out joy? Will people need
forgiveness? Would you pour
out forgiveness God where people need healing? God in Jesus name, you are the great
physician. Would you pour out healing into their lungs? Jesus, we're going to be careful
to always give you the honor and you the glory because you are the only one that
deserves it and it's in Jesus name. We pray. Amen. Thank you again for joining us for
this morning service. We truly hope our time together made an impact in your walk with
God. If you made the life changing decision to trust in Jesus as your Lord and savior.
Congratulations following Jesus truly is the greatest decision you will ever make.
Please let us know by emailing us at online at dot com, we want to reach out and help
you grow in your faith. Remember, our pastoral staff is always available for ministry.
If you need pastoral care or have a prayer request, please submit the care and support
form at find refuge dot com slash care. And a member of our pastoral team will contact
you. If you are a member of our church, family and would like to financially support the
mission and the vision of refuge church. There are three easy ways to give online by
text, or you can mail a check to the church office, each church. We love you and we hope
to see you soon, but until then have a great week..