Amazing. So Jesus knows the guys who are in the boat, and watch this. So He will take them where they haven't chosen to go in order to produce in them what they could not achieve on their own. God will take you where you haven't intended to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own. God will take you and you and you and you and me where we have not intended to go in order to produce in us what we could not achieve on our own. You know what the Bible calls that? Grace. I think for many of us, and I've been here many times in my life, there are moments where I'm crying out, "Where is the grace of God?" And I'm getting it. But it's not a cool drink, it's not a soft pillow. Oh, I want the grace of relief and the grace of release, and I get those in pieces, but largely those are to come. What I actually need is the transforming grace of refinement. It's grace. Sisters, we better become committed to encouraging one another and teaching one another and preaching to one another, get this terminology, the theology of uncomfortable grace. The theology of uncomfortable grace, because very often this side of eternity, the grace of God comes to me in uncomfortable forms. It's grace. It's grace. It's grace. God will take you where you haven't chosen to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own. That's glorious grace. Now back to your Bibles, the plot thickens. Verse 47, "And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea and He was alone on the land, and He saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them." Now, this moment, you need to understand this, this moment where Jesus rises and begins to walk out on the sea toward the disciples is the linchpin, the epicenter of this passage. If you don't understand what that action is about, you'll never understand the glory and grace that is meant to be communicated to you in the here and now through this little story that has been retained for your example and your instruction. There are two things that you need to observe here. Let me read again. "And about the fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea." Walking on the sea. Walking on the sea. Walking on the sea. You are way too passive. You ought to be saying hallelujah at this point. Don't try this at home. The minute Jesus steps His first foot on that water, you know this is Lord God Almighty, King Creation, King of Creation, He can do anything He wants with His Creation, this is the Lord. If what Mark wanted to do is demonstrate that Jesus is of Nazareth, is the Son of God, case closed, argument won, deal done, the average person doesn't walk on water. This is the Lord. But there's something else you must observe. The minute Jesus takes that walk, you are clued into what this whole event is about. The minute Jesus takes that walk, His intention for this moment is being revealed to you. Because think with me, if all Jesus wanted to do was remove the difficulty, He wouldn't have had to take the walk. All He would have to do is say, "Peace be still." The wind would have died, the waves would have come, and the guys in the boat happily would have rowed the rest of the way across the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida. The minute Jesus takes the walk, you know that He's not after the difficulty, He's after the people in the middle of the difficulty, that's what He's after. Now, when you're in difficulty, what do you want? Little more redemption? Send a little more difficult my way, Lord, I'm not redeemed enough yet? You're sitting in the moment of a life mass and you're singing << Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it! Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb >> I don't think so. I mean, there are moments where we're very tempted to attach our assent to the faithfulness of God to His willingness to remove the difficulty. That's the spiritual equation for us, "You remove this difficulty, I'll gladly praise you."
Transcript: Session 1
WOMEN HELPING WOMEN
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