How to Trust God When Everything Goes Wrong | There Is More: Endgame | Pastor Jonathan Pokluda

Hey guys, thanks for checking out this Bible teaching. Every week we release a podcast that corresponds to the sermon. It's like a little bit of a deeper dive, where we hit some things that didn't make it into the sermon, some theological concepts. We talk about things that are going on in our culture and how to think about them from a biblical perspective. We call that podcast Live Free. An episode releases every Monday that corresponds to the sermon. If you would like to check out Live Free, just go to the Lake Point YouTube channel and look for the podcast tab there. We'll see you at Live Free now. Enjoy this Bible teaching. Such an honor to be with you, Lake Point, and to dive into God's Word. I'm going to start with just a confession for you. I grew up with a fear of flying, and here's the reason why. In the eighth grade, I flew for the very first time on an airplane to Washington, D.C. And as we were in this airplane, there was a tornado on the runway. And you could listen to the pilot talk about, hey, we're going to have to divert to another airport, and then, hey, I don't know if we have enough fuel, all while the plane's just bouncing around and people have those bags out. And this is, you know, I'm just like, is this normal? Like, is this what flying is like? And so when we land, I'm like, I don't ever want to do that again. And of course, as I grew up, sometimes I had to and I would travel, but every time I would get on an airplane, it seems like they would say, hey, we're going to be going through some turbulence today. Then I'm like, you know, some rough air. I'm like, that's the only kind of air I know, is the rough kind. And so in March, my wife and I, it was in the springtime, we were going to fly to Miami. And of course, I have a little bit of anxiety getting on this airplane with her.

And we're up in the sky, and the pilot comes over the intercom, the PA, and says, hey, guys, we're going to be flying through some storms today. There's some storm cells. So we're going to be experiencing some rough air. And I'm like, of course we are. I'm on the plane. And so, you know, you're going to keep your seatbelts on, I'm going to have the flight attendants stay in their seats, and I'm just like, oh, no. Here we go again. So I pull out my Bible, because God protects you when you have your Bible open, I guess. And I'm just like, because you get superstitious. You're like, what do I do to like make this okay, right? So I pull out my Bible. As soon as I do, like it's open on my lap, we hit the rough, I mean, the plane just fell out of the sky, just boom. And I mean, my Bible bounces off the ceiling, is that kind of moment. Like everybody's panicked. The guy in front of me was drinking coffee. He's now wearing coffee. Lady behind me is a grandmother, elderly lady with her grandchildren. She just grabs their hands and just starts praying. She's clearly Pentecostal. I mean, praying fire down on this plane, and I'm like, yeah, I'm here for it. So I turn around, and I just grab her hand. She opens one eye. I was like, who's this stranger? I'm like, keep praying, lady. And then I'm just like, wait a minute. Like this isn't how I go out. I'm a pastor.

Like this isn't what, you're not going to take my wife and I down like this, Lord, because I know you're in control. And then I look around the plane, and I realize it's a bunch of wild spring breakers. And I'm like, what if we're just collateral damage? Like we just got on the wrong aircraft. And as I continue to work through my fear of flying, I realized it's actually just the fear of being out of control, specifically being out of control when there's turbulence, when there's a storm. And so that's what I want to talk with you about, the few minutes that we have together, is what do you do in the storm when you're not in control? And here's the punchline for you. You're not in control. You don't control the storm. And storms of life are a certainty. You're either in one, you're coming out of one, or you're headed toward one. Every single person here falls into one of those three categories. So we're going to learn from the Apostle Paul what to do in the midst of the storm when we feel out of control. This is one of the greatest chapters of leadership in your entire Bible. It's Acts chapter 27. We've been going through Acts, learning from the life of the Apostle Paul. And today, we get to look at this amazing chapter in a series you've called End Game. Two weeks ago, Pastor Joss talked about the ABCs of sharing your faith. And then last week, Pastor Mike instructed us, from the Word of God, around this word almost. Herod Agrippa almost trusted Christ. What does it look like to get so close and almost go all in with Jesus? But today, I want to talk about what do you do when life feels turbulent, and you feel out of control? Maybe this morning, today, it's your marriage.

Maybe you got an argument on your way to church. It's a little bumpy. Don't point right now. No elbows. Maybe it's a kid. You're watching make destructive life decisions and you feel like they're not listening and it just feels so painful. Maybe it's a difficult relationship within your family. You don't feel seen. You don't feel loved. You don't feel heard. You don't feel honored. Maybe it's work. Maybe a job just ended. Maybe a job ended months and months and months ago and you're so tired of interviews, getting rejected, or maybe you're in a job that hopefully somebody else wants because you hate it and it is a storm. Maybe it's health. Maybe you've been chasing diagnosis and prognosis and medicine and doctors and all of the things trying just to feel okay. Maybe it's age. Maybe as I talk about marriage, you're like, yeah, I wish. I wish there was a prospect. I wish there was someone I could even spend time with. I'm just in such a season of loneliness. What is the storm? Before we dive into the scripture,

I want you thinking, what is the storm? You're in, you're coming out of, you're headed into. What's the storm happening in your life? Because underneath all of the fears that we experience, it's ultimately, what am I going to do when I am not in control, when I just feel like I can't control this? And so if you wanna turn with me to Acts 27, I wanna share this with you and just say, right now, there's something very interesting happening in our country. You can call it a great awakening. You can call it an outpouring of the Spirit. You can call it the Spirit stirring. You can call it, as I do, a revival. And what I want you to know is that Lake Point Church is at the center of whatever God is doing in our country. You guys get to attend church where much of the country wants to attend church, where they stay in tune with you because what's happening here is not normal. 700-something baptisms the other day, that's not normal. You better believe God is doing a unique work in and through your church, and I don't want you to take it for granted. I love this church. I learned from this church, and I love the leadership here. Pastor Josh is a dear friend, and I am learning from you guys constantly,

so I consider it a great honor and privilege to open God's Word with you this morning. Okay, Paul is a prisoner. He has been tried by the Sanhedrin, was arrested in Jerusalem. He's appeared before Felix, before Festus, before Agrippa. He's innocent. Festus and Agrippa believes he's innocent, but Paul has appealed to Caesar in Rome because this is God's calling on his life, that he would go to Rome, the epicenter of culture, and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. He knew he was gonna go to Rome. God told him he was gonna go to Rome. He just didn't know he was going to Rome in chains. So he's getting on board a ship, a giant boat as a prisoner with 275 other people. Okay, there's sailors, there's soldiers, there's the centurion Julius. A centurion is a commander-in-chief over 100 soldiers. Think century, centurion, he sees 100 soldiers. And then there's Luke and Aristarchus. Now, how did Luke and Aristarchus get to go with Paul? They probably said, hey, we're his servants. And in the first century, your servants could go with a prisoner of honor, a prisoner of somebody esteemed as important. And so they're on the boat with him. And Luke says, we. And so he's writing down what he sees in great detail.

And in fact, secular historians, unbelieving archeologists have read this chapter to study and have a better understanding of first century seamanship because the details are unbelievable. So I'm going to do a lot of reading today. So tune in with me, grab a pen, take notes. Let's rock and roll. Much time, verse nine. Much time had been lost and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the day of atonement. 59 AD would have put October 5th. And Romans considered sailing after September 15th to be a death sentence of the storms. You just didn't do it. It was hurricane season. So Paul warned the men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to the ship and cargo and to our own lives. But the centurion. instead of listening to Paul the prisoner, followed the advice of the pilots and the owner of the ship. Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete facing both the southwest and northwest.

And so they're at Myra boarding a grain ship, so don't think like Sea of Galilee boat, Jesus with his disciples. It's a big boat. Here's a picture of it, okay? This is 276 people on this boat, about 180 feet long, about 50 feet wide. It's a ship. And they're getting on, it's a merchant ship, they're carrying product. And Paul, I wanna remind you, Paul's, he's like an expert in shipwrecks, you know? 2 Corinthians 11 says he's been shipwrecked three times. What's interesting about that is that was written prior to Acts 27. So this is his fourth shipwreck. He's like collecting shipwreck stories. And so when Paul the prisoner says, hey, we shouldn't go, they should listen to him. But, you know, the centurion Julius is like, you know what, Mr. Prisoner, I'm gonna go ahead and listen to the boat captain and the boat owner, not you, and they sail on. And I think it would have been so easy for Paul to be like, well, they're not gonna listen to me. But instead, he just calmly warns them. He just stands calm and says, hey, if you do that, this is what's going to happen. Because Paul knows who's in control. That is very apparent of his life.

And so if we're gonna learn from his example, because there is no imperative command in the scripture, like there's no thou shalt, this is what you need to do, Christian, in this chapter. We're going to learn, it's all descriptive, not prescriptive. And so as it describes history, we're going to learn from Paul's example. And my first point is that we are to stay calm by remembering who controls the outcome. In the storms of life, I want you to stay calm by remembering who controls the outcome. Because Paul cannot control the weather. He cannot control the sailors. He cannot control the soldiers. He cannot control the centurion and what the centurion believes is true. But he can have faith in the one who controls all of those things. And he can calmly demonstrate that faith by giving them divine instruction so that he might carry favor with them. So that at some point, they might listen to them. This is parenting. Like as you show a child in the way they should go so that as they grow old, they do not depart from it. It's just like, hey, really calm. Like you do this, it's gonna go poorly. You do this, it's gonna go well. You do this, it's gonna go poorly.

You do this, it's gonna go well. This is leadership, companies, organizations. You do this, it's gonna go poorly. You do this, it's gonna go well. And people are learning whether they can trust you or not. And I think it's so easy for us to be like, oh man, they won't listen. They'll never listen. I mean, in pastoral ministry, all the time, someone's like, you know, so-and-so really hurt me. I'm like, oh, okay, well, the scripture would tell us that you should go to them and you should tell them. And you know what people say to that? Oh, that will never work. Oh, oh, oh, so you determine your obedience based on your perceived outcome rather than trusting the one who controls the outcome? Because my husband has spent some time in this book and it seems like what he does is sometimes he surprises us in the way he changes people's hearts. So maybe we're not as smart as we think we are. Like maybe we're not God and he's God and we're just supposed to be obedient regardless of the outcome. You do not determine obedience based on the outcome. Everything you've learned in school, logical deductive reasoning says, okay, what do I think's going to happen? So what do I think I should do? God sometimes slays giants with boys in slingshots.

Sometimes he sends people through a fiery furnace only to bring them through it. Sometimes God dies on a cross to be put in a grave for three days only to show back up. It doesn't make sense. It surpasses all logic. So sometimes he brings a great good through a great bad. And so you just remember who controls the outcome. Who's the one in charge? You stay calm and you do everything you can to point people to him. Calm people lead scared people. Scared people don't need a scared leader. You can write this down. Confidence in God produces calm in the chaos. Confidence in God produces calm in the chaos. When I had just become a believer, okay, so don't judge me for this story, I'm a brand new Christian, not even plugged into a church, and I was really good at being a pagan, and all my friends were really good at being a pagan, and I don't have church friends yet, so we do what pagans do, and we went and partied, you know, we were at a bar in Dallas, and one of my friends at the time had had too much to drink, and so he does what guys do when they've had too much to drink, because he walks through that bar trying to find the smallest guy, and he does, and he says, what are you looking at, you know, and they're all chest to chest, and I see them being a brand new Christian, like, not even sure how to hear the Holy Spirit yet, and I go over, and I'm like, no, no, no, we're not going to do this right now, and so I'm separating them, like, no, this isn't going to happen, we're not going to do, I'm so sorry, he's had too much to drink, let me take him home, I'm going to take him, I'm so sorry he's interrupted your evening, you know, and I separate them, and this guy goes, don't you touch me, okay, okay, well, all my guys come over, and they circle us up, and like, my guys, I mean, these are pagans, you know, and they're all on the

Josh Howerton workout program, like, they, these are big dudes, man, I mean, they're on the creatine and stuff, and so they're all circled up, right, and, you know, and they get all chest to chest again, you know, and there they are, and I go back up, and I separate, I'm like, hey, this isn't going to happen, guys, I'm going to, listen, I'm going to take him home, and I separate them again, and he says, I told you, don't touch me, and I said, hey, man, why you got to be like that, why are you being rude right now, you know, I'm just trying to help you out, like, this isn't going to go well for you, and he does this thing, I'll never forget it. When you see real faith, you don't forget it, you take note, he looks at me, he pulls out his phone, pushes a button, hey, you here, all right, I got something I want you to take care of, he's up, and he just looks at me, and I was like, who was that, Batman, you know, like, who, and I tell the boys, I'm like, we got to go, let's go, everybody in the car, let's go, we got to go, I don't want to know who he called, let's go, and we get outside, and I see who he called, and these two guys are walking up, just got out of some MMA fight or something, he's got a chain around his neck, but not like a gold chain, like a chain you pull a car with, it's got a padlock right here, and he's like, these the guys, I'm like, no, sir, they left, and I'm just like, get in the car, right, because you saw a man, you saw a man who knew who controlled the outcome, that's what's happening, and so I don't know where you're at, if it's a kid, if it's your marriage, if it's your job, if it's your health, if it's your financial situation, but I want to ask you right now, who controls the outcome, because I wouldn't avoid him right now, I would lean in, in the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Verse 13, when a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity, so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete, gentle south wind, let's go, it looked safe, Paul was wrong. Verse 14, before very long, a wind of hurricane force called the northeaster swept down from the island, the ship was caught up by the storm and could not head into the wind, so we gave way to it and were driven along, we had no control, the wind is taking us wherever it wants to go, as we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly

able to make the lifeboat secure, so the men hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together, they're tying the rope together, it's called frapping the ship, they're basically trying to tie their boat together so it doesn't get torn apart. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along, we took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard, on the third day they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands, when neither the sun nor the stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved, they're in a hurricane being tossed to and fro, and in a hurricane you start understanding what your priorities are, because this is a merchant ship that exists for profitability, and all of a sudden they say, we're going to die, throw it all overboard, and they throw the tackle overboard, which is how you steer the ship. They've given up all hope, they're at the mercy of what they think is nature right now, and I want you to feel this, I want you to really feel this, so let's just watch this for a moment. For 14 days, two weeks of that, after they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said, Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss, but now I urge you to keep up your courage because not one of you will be lost. This is an amazing leadership moment. Can I just remind you, he's a prisoner. He's a prisoner. He just took control. He's a prisoner on this ship. But now I urge you to keep up your courage because not one of you will be lost. Only the ship will be destroyed. Last night, an angel of God to whom I belong and to whom I serve stood beside me. You want to use every moment you have. Point to God and said, Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you. So keep up your courage, men. For I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island. He said, You didn't listen to me now. You didn't listen to me then, but listen to me now. It's not a spiteful, I told you so. It's a hopeful, let's go. Let's look forward. Okay, I've got the reins now. I've got a plan. Something bigger is happening here. These

men are tied to Paul and their salvation is at stake. The apostle Paul wants them to be saved from the storm, but he wants them to be saved for eternity. And God has told Paul that he's going to go to Rome, Acts 21, Acts 23. But God is so kind to remind us again and again, I know the plans I have for you. I'm going to finish what I started in you. I'm going to carry out to completion what I started in you. You can read it over and over and over. He's kind to remind you. Some of you need to be reminded this morning when you can't control the storm. Remember, the storm is where your faith is seen. Number two, the storm is where your faith is seen. Okay, what storm are you in right now? Parenting, kids, work, finance, loneliness, health. What storm are you in right now? Maybe it is your greatest opportunity to believe what you say you believe. Maybe it is your greatest opportunity to show the world that you believe what you say you believe. Okay, because everybody's watching and your faith is most clearly displayed in the trials of life, in the storm. Like if you're sitting here, I mean, you're in church, you know, you're worshiping, you're singing the songs. You're like, no, I believe in God. Your greatest opportunity is to believe in God is when you need to believe in God. Like faith is really only seen and only displayed in the trials. So often what we pray for to God is really not to need faith. God, would you give me security and comfort and safety and help me not to need you? But if dependence is the goal, our weakness is the advantage. If dependence is the goal, then your weakness, your struggle, your storm, your trial, that's your advantage because that's where you get His grace is sufficient. His power is made perfect in your weakness. You guys know who John Wesley is? Started the Methodist movement. He came over from England. He was coming to America on a ship. He had graduated from seminary. He's the chaplain of the ship. He's a minister, a church planner, and he's coming over here and it's 1735 and a great storm hits the ship and everybody is terrified. They're pretty certain they're going to die at sea. Or there's these German Moravian missionaries. And as all the Englishmen scream in horror, they sang hymns with a smile on their face. They just gently sang hymns. And when the storm settled and they realized that they had survived it, John Wesley went to them and said, how were you able to stay so calm in the storm? What was going on? Did you not realize? Were you guys drunk? What was happening? And the lead missionary looked at John Wesley and just said, have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Wesley was taken

aback. He said, you know, I'm the chaplain of the ship. And he said, and still I ask you, have you trusted in Christ as your Lord and Savior? Wesley, I'm a minister of the gospel, a leader of the church, a missionary. And still I ask you. Have you trusted in Christ as your Lord and Savior? And John Wesley points to that moment as when he became a follower of Jesus Christ, a Christian indwelt by the Holy Spirit. That's his testimony. He was a pastor, a minister, a missionary, and the chaplain of a boat, and not a believer. And he said, when that guy asked me that, it became a rock in my shoe and I surrendered my life to Christ. And that's his testimony, right? Everybody's looking for someone who's actually living by faith. Okay, people are watching. They want to see someone who's actually living by faith. People come to faith by seeing the faith of others. Your storm is your opportunity, 27. On the 14th night, we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea when about midnight, the sailors sensed they were approaching land. They took soundings and found that the water was 120 feet deep. A short time later, they took soundings again and found it was 90 feet deep. Fearing that they would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight,

because they haven't seen daylight. In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved. So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away. So the sailors are gonna try to sneak off in the lifeboat, but the soldiers go over and they cut the lifeboat down and let it go. And this is the beginning of the army-navy rival. Dates back to the first century. Just before dawn, Paul urged them all to eat. Listen, for the last 14 days, he said, you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food. You haven't eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head. After he said this, he took some bread. What does this sound like? He took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Altogether, there were 276 of us on board. When they had eaten as much as they wanted,

they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea. Paul's like, hey, we've been fighting a storm for 14 days and you guys have forgotten to do the basics. You gotta eat. So like, we're gonna stop for a minute. And they're like, who can eat at a time like this? And he's like, you don't understand, we can't afford not to. Like God's in charge of the outcome, but we have something we have to do also. Like we have a responsibility. And so when you can't control the storm, number three, do your part and trust God for the rest. You need to know and understand what your part is. Do your part and trust God for the rest. You, like you are in charge of your own spiritual growth. You're not like, well, my church isn't making me and I can't, no, no. You are in charge of your own spiritual growth. Like we come here, we sing songs, we worship corporately. There's some Bible teaching, it's a shot in the arm, but this is not enough. This is not enough to grow you. Like you go home, you're gonna wake up tomorrow. What are you gonna do tomorrow? Because that's gonna determine how you get through the storm. It's daily bread, daily bread, right? What he, it seems like what he does right in the middle of all of this is like, take communion.

Hey, I wanna remember that Jesus Christ died for my sins and that God raised him from the dead and that this is not my home and that I'm gonna be somewhere forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. So regardless of the outcome right now, I put my hope in Jesus, right? I'm putting my hope in Jesus. And so you've got to keep the basics in front of you. Prayer every day, the word every day, sharing your faith every day, living on mission every day, staying connected, abiding every single day, spiritual disciplines every single day so that when the storm comes, because what happens, the enemy loves to distract you with anxiety and depression, despair. He loves to distract you with the storm in front of you so that you cut corners. And what it does is it compounds your problem. It compounds the issue. You're like, I don't have time to go to church. I don't have time to go to small group. I don't have time to read the Bible. You can't afford not to. You cannot afford not to. The decisions you make in the storm will impact your life after the storm. So don't turn to coping.

Don't turn to Netflix. Don't turn to scrolling. Don't turn to alcohol. Don't turn to THC. Okay, don't turn to your coping. mechanisms to food, right, in an unhealthy way. Turn to God, because he is doing something so much bigger than what you see. That's the reality, guys. Left my family, I drove up here, I'm standing before you. What I am certain of, 100% absolutely positive of, is that God is doing things in the midst of your storm that you do not realize, you are completely oblivious to them, you can trust him, it's what he does. He is working out together all things for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. What the enemy has meant for evil, God uses for my good. These are scriptures, Romans 8, 28, Genesis 50, 20. There's a reason they're on my heart. When my oldest was four years old, she's in college now, it's hard to believe. But when she was four, and I would take her to the grocery store, we were just trying to survive as parents with two under four, and I would take her to the grocery store and I put her in that shopping cart with a steering wheel. You guys know the one? They have them in Dallas, like this thing, yeah. So that makes trips to the grocery store different,

because I put her in there, and wherever she would steer, I would take us, she turned left, I'd take us left, she'd turn right, I'd take us right. We'd hit the bananas and the Froot Loops and whatever, like she went there, and now the grocery store is like the go-kart track, you know? I'm like, and she's having a blast with dad. Like wherever she goes, like that's where I take her. Left, right, right, left, and at some point, guys, at some point, she turns left, and I take us right, and I'd watch a four-year-old grip that wheel so tight and turn with all her might left, and effortlessly, I would push us right. She thought she was in control, but the reality was, I had an agenda, I had a grocery list. Like I was there for a purpose. It's for her good. She needs to eat, and so at some point, she's like, no, I wanna go this way, and I'm like, but you don't understand, we have to go this way. When you turn left and God takes you left, you celebrate, you rejoice, you sing, you give gratitude, but when you turn left and God takes you right, you celebrate, you rejoice, you sing, you give gratitude, you trust. God, I know you're doing something. I can't see it right now, but I believe in faith that you are doing something for my good in the midst of this tragedy, in the midst of my grief, in the midst of this storm.

Do you trust the one that's in control? And you can't afford not to do what you feel like you can't do. And so, to wrap this up, daylight comes, and they see the island of Malta. They intentionally untie the rudders, they untie the ship, they turn the ship towards Malta, and they intentionally crash into it. The stern is ripped to pieces, that's the back of the ship, and then it says, the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping, but the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way, everyone reached land safely. It's today called St. Paul's Bay. 276 people are safe, they're gonna kill the prisoners. The centurion is like, you can't kill the prisoners because that guy's a prisoner and that guy's the only reason we're still alive. It seems like he knows the one true God. It seems like he has conversations with the creator of the heavens and the earth. He's been giving us instructions while he's in chains. I think we need to listen to him, right? And everyone is safe, and I just wanna turn your attention,

like, point to the reality that it never got easy, that this is God's man, he is faithful, the greatest missionary the world has ever seen, and it never got easy, and in fact, next week, he gets bitten by a poisonous viper. Dude can't catch a break, okay? Like, cannot catch a break. In summary, when you can't control the storm, stay calm by remembering who controls the outcome. Remember, the storm is where our faith is seen, and do your part, and trust God for the rest. I find myself in a season of life where I am flying often, and I'm no longer, no longer do I have a fear of flying, completely healed from that. People say, how? I'll tell you, one day. I was on a plane. I sat next to a pilot. As we were taking off he sensed that I was nervous, you know, my palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms were heavy, vomit on my... Oh, sorry. Sorry. I was nervous, you know, I was like hyperventilating, praying. He's like, you afraid? I said, yeah. He said, why? I said, man, I don't like flying. He said, why? I said, man, it just seems like the plane's gonna fall apart in the sky. He said, really? I said, yeah. He said, no, this thing was made to fly. And, you know, it's just made to hold together and stay in the air. And I said, yeah, but what about when you hit the turbulence? He goes, it's made for so much worse. And I go, but aren't you afraid when you're flying and you hit turbulence? He goes, afraid? He goes, no, we're having fun. I said, you're having fun?

He said, yeah, man, don't you understand? Like, most of these pilots, they were in the Air Force, they were flying fighter jets, dodging bullets, you know, flying at, you know, 9 G's and stuff. He's like, this is, this thing flies itself. He goes, when we hit turbulence, that's the only time we get to use our training. And I was like, really, you're having fun up there, huh? He said, yeah, you don't have to be afraid. He goes, I want you to consider the experience of the pilot. Do you know how many thousands of hours they spent in an airplane? How many thousands of times they've taken off and landed and taken off and landed? This is routine for them. When you get off the plane, I want you to look at the stripes on their sleeves. I want you to notice the gray hair on their head, understand their experience. Late point, can I just tell you something? In the midst of your storm, would you consider the experience of the pilot? I mean, is he trustworthy? He created everything you see. He spoke it into existence. He set his people free from slavery. He parted the sea and delivered their enemy to them. He's unlocked wombs. He's provided water from Iraq. He gave them food from nowhere. He froze the sun, allowing victory, and he brought down walls of the enemy. He's defeated a giant with a boy and a slingshot. He shut the mouths of lions. He brought men through a fiery furnace. He's fed thousands with a few loaves. He's made the weak strong. He's healed the sick. He's made the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the mute speak, and he has set me free by dying on a cross for my sins. He took all my sins on him. He took all your sins on him, and he died, and the enemy thought that it was over, and they placed him in the grave, and three days later, he walked out. And he gave you the hope of eternal life. And so if he's defeated death,

what are you afraid of? For he did not give you a spirit of timidity, but one of power, love, and self-discipline. If God is for you, then who can be against you? His experience is perfect. It's flawless. It's powerful. It's undefeated. What are you afraid of? Let me pray. Father, we just, we believe, help our unbelief. We believe, help our unbelief. I too just give thanks to those who have given their lives so that we can walk in freedom because it certainly reminds me of when you gave your life so that we could walk in ultimate freedom. And in their act of fearlessness, their great display of courage, how much more should we, knowing the one true God who has defeated death, walk in that courage, walk in that fearlessness, and have hope? Would you help us do that, Lord? In Jesus' name, amen.