182 - Pray For The Comeback

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, everybody, thanks for tuning in to the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast. We're your hosts. I'm J.C. that's Brian Edwards. [00:00:07] Speaker B: What's up, buddy? Yes, sir, man. J.C. i regret the conditions that we are recording under, but it is actually really good to be back and just to hear you kick off the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast. That is forever something that I will treasure. [00:00:29] Speaker A: Yeah, it's been a. Been an incredible run. And of course, we're here tonight for those that are just catching up to the rfp. Brian stepped away from the podcast a few months ago, started his own new podcast. You're what, two, three episodes in now? [00:00:47] Speaker B: We're getting ready to record or release the third. [00:00:50] Speaker A: Nice. It's called In Context that, right? [00:00:53] Speaker B: Well, you're pretty close. Text and Context. [00:00:56] Speaker A: Text and Context. [00:00:58] Speaker B: Well, here's the thing. I thought I'd come up with this incredibly unique name. We're going to take a text and we're going to put it in context. And then what I found out was apparently there are a lot of people before me who've come up with that same unique name. [00:01:13] Speaker A: Shocking. [00:01:13] Speaker B: Recovering Fundamentalist was a one of a kind. It was a diamond on top of some beautiful golden pedestals. But yeah, I'm texting Context now. You'll have to look it up. [00:01:24] Speaker A: Well, it's. It's been a great episode on, of course, our great podcast. And man, we miss you on here. Of course, Matt Dudley has taken Brian spot on here. We. We don't know where Matt is right now. I think he's out in the middle of the woods hunting a little bit. [00:01:40] Speaker B: But he's in Missouri. That's a big place to get lost. [00:01:43] Speaker A: It is. Of course, our buddy, our friend, our brother, our co host, Nathan Cravat, is, is in the hospital right now in icu, and we just thought it'd be good to come on here. We wanted to give you, our listeners, just an update a little bit. We've, we've actually tried to do this episode a few times this week. And honestly, Brian, this. This week has felt like a year. It's crazy how seven days has felt like. I mean, it feels like it has been a long time in just these few short days. But Nathan, for those that aren't aware, and Nathan was on a trip to Nepal with a good friend from Brian's church, Chicken. And they were in Nepal on a mission trip. And while over there, at some point, Nathan contracted something. We don't really know what that is, but he. He got home and has been really sick and almost A week ago tomorrow. It was Sunday a week ago, and Nathan went to the emergency room, had a fever that just wouldn't break. And honestly, bud, it's. It's just gone downhill from there. I mean, there was a few times over this week we thought we lost him, but God's still in control. [00:03:02] Speaker B: Amen to that. Well, you know, last Tuesday, I was with Nathan. He came in our direction and we met. We spent all day together Tuesday and then all evening together. Tuesday evening we went out to dinner. And to be honest with you, he looked. He looked spent. You know, most of the time, Nathan's energetic. He's. He's taking 10 million pictures of nothing. Of nothing running in every direction. [00:03:36] Speaker A: The dude takes pictures of pictures, man. [00:03:38] Speaker B: He does. He does. It beats all I've ever seen. But. But that day he was different, J.C. he didn't have any energy and he. He really looked. To be honest with you, he just looked exhausted. And so that night, he and I were at dinner and I said, nathan, please let me get you a hotel close by. You don't need to drive anywhere. Please let me get you a hotel. So he argued back and forth. And finally I said, look, there's a Courtyard Marriott a couple of exits from here. I'll get you a two bedroom suite and you can sleep in both beds. You can relax and just please rest before you drive. So he. By Tuesday evening, end of the night, he felt so badly that he said, hey, Brian, I believe I'm going to take you up on that hotel room. Well, he went there and JC, he slept for 12 hours. He woke up the next morning, he still didn't feel well, but he felt like he could make the drive back. Then Thursday morning, I get a text message from him that just simply said, I am the sickest I have ever been in my life. Well, then when I got the call Sunday, he went to the emergency room. You know, Carrie said. I said, I'm on my way. She said, wait, we don't even know what's wrong. And then by the time Monday came, his condition had so declined overnight that after a gracious phone call from you, which I really appreciated, and then a call from Carrie, I said, I'm in the car. And then, you know, because you were there, I basically have just spent the last four to five days sitting in the waiting room and over and over again, it's this roller coaster of Nathan is gone and there's no coming back. And then there is. Wait a minute, There's a glimmer of hope. It's it's, it's been unbelievable. And my heart, for that reason, breaks for carrying the girls in Austin. [00:05:41] Speaker A: Yep. You know, Tuesday, when he got back, we were supposed to get together. And of course, I don't know if you realize this or not, we had the for the sake of the gospel conference this past weekend here at Hope Church. And I kept calling him Dudley. And him, Dudley was sick with. I think he had covered for the 22 second 22. [00:06:01] Speaker B: He brought it to me one time. [00:06:03] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:06:03] Speaker B: The first time I ever got it, I got it from Dudley because he had been around dust in his house. [00:06:08] Speaker A: Yeah, Dudley, he's a walking Covid machine. So he was sick and not going to be able to make it. So then I was like, well, Nathan, it's on me and you, buddy. And he was like, I don't, I don't feel well. I said, okay, well, I'll just get it planned and then we'll make it happen. I called him on Thursday evening. He said, jc, my earlobes hurt. He was like, everything hurts. But he specifically said, my earlobes hurt. I was like, okay, that's pretty weird. And you know how Nathan is. I mean, that guy is go, go, go, go, go all the time. And I knew on Saturday afternoon when he texted me and said, I'm not coming, that if he couldn't make it to the for the sake of the gospel conference, that boy's sick. I mean, Nathan doesn't miss out on taking selfies with people. And I knew that if all of our friends were in town and he wasn't here to take pictures with them, homeboy's sick. And, you know, I, I, it's, it's. It's crazy. I preached a sermon on Stephen called don't waste your life and talked about how we're all living a dash, just a dash between two dates and how we need to make our life count for the sake of the gospel and had no idea that literally within 24 hours, our brother would be fighting for his life. He still is fighting for his life, but, man, what a fighter. And we don't know if this is the podcast you're tuning in to get all the inside scoop. That's not what we're here for. We don't know. The doctors still really don't know exactly what's going on with Nathan's body. We know that right now we're praying as it is. Saturday night at 8:20pm we are praying for his kidneys to wake up. Nathan's kidneys are dead. We're wait. We're praying for those to wake up? [00:07:44] Speaker B: Yes. We need a resurrection. [00:07:45] Speaker A: Yes. We're praying for his spleen to grow back. We're praying for his liver to heal. Nathan. This is public knowledge. Nathan will lose some extremities. I was up there actually tonight. Brian. I got to go see Nathan. He's awake. Um, Nathan, it's incredible. We'll talk about this here in a minute. Nathan woke up yesterday afternoon and asked for the girls. He was on a ketamine trip like you wouldn't believe. And what an incredible story that I'm pretty sure he had a cigar with Noah somewhere in the vastness of the universe. But we'll talk about that here in a minute. But he woke up and bro, listen, Brian, he is awake. He remembers things. He is talking. We had a good laugh. Do you remember? One of the funniest things that ever happened. I'm 42 years old and the hardest I have ever laughed in my life. When we went to Jim Symbols up in Brooklyn, New York. I'm pretty sure you stayed in the hotel, but Nathan and I decided to rent scooters and go all over New York City. We entered. What is that park called there? Central Park. We entered Central park on those scooters going about 25, 30 mile an hour, bro. You know, Nathan phones up, taking videos of everything. He was on FaceTime Live and wiped out. I'm telling you, that boy wiped out harder than I've ever seen in my life. I turn around, I see phone, glasses, shoes flying off, scooter going one way and Nathan just sliding on his hands and legs. It single handedly was the craziest thing I've ever seen. Blood coming down. You know what? He was worried about finding his glasses so he could shut FaceTime live down. He was so embarrassed. I have cried laughing about that. I got, I went up tonight and I got to see him and we talked about that story and had him chuckling a little bit. And you know, I think where he's at tonight on Saturday night, he is all there. Listen, he's there mentally, completely. [00:09:36] Speaker B: And, and J.C. there was a time when they didn't think that would ever happen. And I, I don't. I agree with you that we shouldn't go into detail. [00:09:44] Speaker A: We're not. [00:09:45] Speaker B: But I don't think we could describe how sick Nathan has been. And I think anyone listening to the podcast right now, if you have the idea that Nathan felt bad, he was taken to the emergency room and he's just been in the hospital recovering that doesn't even come close to what Nathan has suffered. The agony and the pain and the being told that this disease would be 100% fatal. All of that for him to be awake talking to you. And I think if. If we didn't at least give this detail, we would rob God of the glory of what he's done in. In this. In this powerful gift that he has given to Nathan to wake up. Because, man, it's just absolutely incredible to God be the glory, great things he has done. [00:10:38] Speaker A: It's incredible to be up there, Brian, both of us. Thankfully, we were able to go in and see Nathan. I got to see him right before he went up to icu. I walked into the emergency room, walked around the corner. Honestly, it was. It was a really rough site. I. I didn't expect him to look as bad as he did. And he said, jason Groves, what are you doing here? You know, praying with him. I. I went in, just joking around, had two masks on, you know, like, just trying to get him to laugh a little bit. Honestly, when I left that emergency room, the thought crossed my mind that maybe the last time I seen my brother Nathan on this side of eternity, that's a hard thing to swallow. It was that bad. And there were moments this week where we saw him just in pain that it couldn't touch. And, man, he woke up. He's. He's not out of the woodwork. Like, He's. He's not out of trouble yet. We're still praying because there's still some things that need to happen in his life, and. But he's still with us. And, you know, Nathan. It'll be funny. I can't wait to get him on here to talk about his ketamine trip. But he. He went to some realms, man. [00:11:46] Speaker B: He saw some stuff, and he pondered 14 reggae songs. [00:11:51] Speaker A: He pondered the vastness of the universe, and he said it. It was. It was real. It was real. [00:11:57] Speaker B: You know, J.C. you've been friends with Nathan forever, and you and him are so close, and then, you know, Nathan and I have been friends and brothers for about 15 years. You cannot be with Nathan Cravat that much and not have so many awesome stories. [00:12:14] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:12:15] Speaker B: This week, I had Austin, his son, and the girls laughing. So one night, I was in a hotel with Nathan with a couple of other people, and we were reading out of the Hawaiian Pigeon version. [00:12:29] Speaker A: Oh, that's the greatest thing ever, man. [00:12:31] Speaker B: We were laughing, and so I videoed Nathan reading John 3:16 and a few other verses from the Hawaiian Pigeon. Well, you know, Nathan can't just do it. [00:12:42] Speaker A: Oh, no. [00:12:42] Speaker B: And it be just regular or plain, man. He put in all the drama and everything. And we were laughing when the video finally went off. I mean, we laughed and laughed and laughed. And, you know, there's just story after story after story like that. But, you know, the greatest story of our friendship with Nathan is both of us love Jesus more. [00:13:09] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:13:09] Speaker B: Both of us love the gospel more. Both of us love God's people more. And both of us are more committed disciples of Jesus because of Nathan Cravat's investment and involvement in our lives. [00:13:25] Speaker A: And I'll tell you this. I've talked to many people over this last week who's watching what God is doing, has done and is continuing to do in Nathan's life, that their faith is being encouraged, that their faith is growing. I mean, listen, that boy's a walking miracle right now. We've got. We've been able to behold God. I mean, we collectively, as his friends, we tore the roof off and lowered our body to the feet of Jesus. And, man, he's working in his life. And, I mean, we're praying kidneys. Wake up. Like this. This dude came back to life. [00:13:58] Speaker B: Jc, I've never seen anyone prayed over this much. My phone across the world blown up. Listen. Every single day, multiple times a day. [00:14:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:11] Speaker B: I've had conversations with Dr. Phil Kidd, who has been so burdened about Nathan. I've talked to people from the Brooklyn Tabernacle. I want to thank Pastor Simbla. I called him, and they assembled their entire prayer ministry to call an emergency session of prayer just for Nathan. The churches in Nepal have been fasting and praying each Hope Church location, including yours, that everybody's been praying. [00:14:43] Speaker A: Did you hear who he got a text from today? [00:14:46] Speaker B: No. [00:14:47] Speaker A: Paul Washer. Paul Washer sent him and Carrie a text and said, hey, all of our people are praying for you. We just want you to know, like, for Nathan. Paul Washer. That's like next to John Piper calling himself Barnabas. If you're listening, get your dad to Chattanooga, and Nathan may run out of that hospital. [00:15:05] Speaker B: I called Barnabas and talked to him, and I did, too. You know, just so many people are praying for him. It's amazing. His name is continually being lifted up before the Lord. And. And jc, God has worked a miracle. And. And listen, the same God who resurrected Lazarus can resurrect Nathan's kidneys. [00:15:25] Speaker A: Amen. [00:15:26] Speaker B: The same God who. Who healed through Jesus, you know, or God in flesh. Jesus healed the woman who had the issue of blood the blind, the lame, the mute, the deaf. He can restore Nathan's health, I believe. And by the way, Nathan's impact is so great. JC it's been beautiful to see, you know, because our kids, you know, they knew each other when they were all younger, and we would go to their house and stay, and they would come to our house and stay. My girls have been on their faces in tears, crying out to the Lord, and, you know, no one ever wishes for anything bad to happen to someone they love. But even Nathan in his sickness has inspired people to pray in a way that they never have before. Man, that is powerful. [00:16:20] Speaker A: Yep. I love it. I do want to thank the RFP fam. We had a prayer night here, and I know even in Danville, there folks are driving in. We had some folks from four hours away drive in just to be part of our prayer night. [00:16:32] Speaker B: Wow. [00:16:33] Speaker A: Poor Nathan, you know, tonight when I was talking to him, this is a testimony of who he is. He would hate all this talk about himself, us talking about him. He said, I'm more in love with Jesus. I believe more now that my faith in Jesus is real. And were it not for grace, like, literally those words tonight, were it not for grace, and you know, that's. That's the heartbeat behind this. God's going to heal him. You know, we're. These are just earthly tents that we're living in, and we'll see Jesus soon. And, you know, selfishly, I've prayed God let my brother stay. We. There's so much more ministry. I feel like he. He has. That he can do here on this earth. But I'll be honest, there was a point at this during this week where I was like, God, just get him out of the pain. Take him on home. Yes, it's going to continue on. You know, he's fought a good fight, but obviously God's not done with him. He's still here. He's still breathing. And here's what we're doing. We're praying for the comeback, and we want to invite you to join us and pray for the comeback. In fact, Monday, there is going to be on our website, on our social media, there's going to be some T shirts that our friends in Kentucky, the West, or Weiss, I still can't say their name. Angela and. And Austin Weast. Right. [00:17:47] Speaker B: I thought it was Weist Weiss. [00:17:49] Speaker A: They know who they are. They're awesome. They have created some T shirts, and we're going to be selling those. Get those T shirts. It is praying for the comeback. We got a GoFundMe set up right now. We've raised almost $20,000 to help with the bills. The goal is 50. I would love to get us to that soon. You can see all of our social media pages. Go to recovering fundamentalist.org there will be a link for both the T shirt and the GoFundMe. And join us as we give God the praise through what he's going to do through our brother Nathan. And I believe that the best really is yet to come. We're praying for a comeback, buddy. [00:18:28] Speaker B: Yes, sir. Well, you know, J.C. if I can just encourage everyone with regard to what you just shared. There is a quote. It's not mine. I can't remember whose quote it is. [00:18:39] Speaker A: I'm sure you'll claim it. [00:18:40] Speaker B: I would. I wish I had it, to be honest, but it'll. It'll be etched in my mind forever. You can never do more until you've prayed, but you can always do more after you've prayed. [00:18:53] Speaker A: Amen. [00:18:54] Speaker B: And so I want to say to the audience, Nathan Cravat has faithfully invested in you and served you now for years. And there have been times in the past went through the podcast, we've asked you to give to things and there were times when even in spite of our the false accusations, the giving was small. This has nothing to do with jc. This has nothing to do with Brian Edwards or Matt Dudley. This is. This is us asking you now that you've prayed, go to the GoFundMe that JC just talked about. [00:19:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:30] Speaker B: This is a family who's going to have unbelievable amounts of medical debt. This is a family who's going to have to care for Nathan literally around the clock. This is going to be a months long process, regardless of the outcome and so longer. Yes, you need to go right now, go to the GoFundMe and JC, I think you should mention it again. Yeah, go to the GoFundMe and do what you can. You know, there are times, jc when a cause rises to the level that it is a righteous thing to give to that call. [00:20:11] Speaker A: Sure, sure. [00:20:11] Speaker B: This is one of those times. Nathan Cravat has earned the support of this family. And so I pray that you would be sacrificial because he was actually advancing the gospel. That's why. [00:20:25] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:20:26] Speaker B: Ultimately this happened. And so now you can advance the love that we know because of the gospel and you can care for our brother Nathan. [00:20:34] Speaker A: Amen. Just go to recovering fundamentalist.org that's recovering fundamentalist.org click on the tab, you'll see. Gofundme Click on that. You can give there. And we're going to be writing that check to Carrie once, that is once we've hit our goal of 50, 000, I'd love to exceed that. Also get you a shirt praying for the comeback and that. And join us, stand in agreement with our brother that God's going to take his story and intersect it with God's story to tell a greater story. And I'm excited to see, you know, tonight I was talking to Nathan and you know, he said something incredible. Brian, of course, on his left hand he's going to lose some fingers. We know this. And I asked him, I said, how's that make you feel? And Brian, he said, you know, when I was younger or my fingers would have been. Losing them would have been devastating because the sports, playing guitar. He said, I'm just thankful God hasn't taken my voice and I've still got my voice. I said, buddy, I said, the story that you're going to be able to tell your voice is louder now than it's ever has been. And I'm excited. I can't wait to get him back on here. I'm looking forward already to the next episode. We need to have a whole episode just about his ketamine trip. That's going to be incredible right there. We'll call that one, Please let me. [00:21:53] Speaker B: Be a part of that. [00:21:54] Speaker A: We'll have Bob Marley playing in the background the whole time on that. But man, Brian, I would love if what we're going to do tonight as we close out this episode about two years ago, Brian, we got to stand on the bow of a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. We got to sing. Many have seen the video. It's been going around this week. We got to stand and lead our brothers in it as well. With my soul. And then Nathan delivered a great message on the bow. That boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus said, peace, be still and the water is calm. And man, little did he know that two years later he'd be in a fight for his life. And we just need Jesus to speak peace in the midst of that storm. And so to close out this episode, we're going to play that entire episode. Thanks, Ronnie Brown, for capturing that audio. And we're going to play that tonight. But Brian, would you pray for our brother, our friend, our co host, and just pray for his continued healing. [00:22:56] Speaker B: All right. Heavenly Father, using the word love to describe how we feel about Nathan. It feels as if the word falls Short. We certainly love him with a love that is far deeper than anything that would be superficial. We love him because he's been our friend. He's been our brother. We love him because he's encouraged us. We love him because he's invested in us. We love him because he has corrected us. We love him because we have seen you through him as he has faithfully modeled you. We love him because he preaches the word. We love him because he loves his family. We love him because he is an encourager. And somehow, even on the darkest day, Nathan somehow sees the sunshine. Lord, our hearts are broken because we're so aware of what he's been through, what Carrie has been through, what the girls in Austin have been through. Lord, I pray God that this miracle that you have begun, that you would continue to work and that the last sentence in the book of Nathan Cravat's life has not yet been written. God, raise him up. Restore him. And may the story of grace that he would tell be a story that would draw people to your son, Jesus Christ. Lord, we're believing by faith that the work is not yet done. We're believing by faith that there are celebrations still to be had. Lord, we're believing by faith that. That Carrie, Elena, Elise, Mia and Austin will get their husband and father back. And that the body of Christ would get a great gospel preacher back. And that those who love Nathan dearly would get their friend and brother back. I pray over the entire extended family, thank you for the way this week Nathan's family has demonstrated faithfulness and faith as they fallen on their faces in that hospital chapel when they received the worst of news. And they've immediately gone to you, God. Lord, what a great opportunity to increase your glory through the praise of your people. Raise Nathan up. I pray in Jesus name. Amen. [00:25:44] Speaker A: Amen. RFP Fam. Keep checking back here if things should change. We'll be back with an update. And Matt and I will be back with an episode soon. And I did ask Nathan tonight if we recorded if he could edit it for us. And he chuckled. So keep checking back. Keep checking our Facebook page and we'll keep you updated. Keep the family in prayer and go to recovering fundamentalist.org and sponsor help. Donate. Give. Buy a shirt. It's going to be great. Ready to go to the Sea of Galilee? [00:26:17] Speaker B: Let's do it. [00:26:18] Speaker A: Let's go. [00:26:51] Speaker C: My soul. [00:26:55] Speaker A: It is well with my soul with my soul it is well it is well with my soul hey, everybody, thanks for tuning in to the recovering fundamentalist Podcast. We're your host. I'm J.C. this is Brian, that's Nathan. And we are coming to you live from the Sea of Galilee out here in Israel with an American flag in the background and the national anthem. And we've got a whole group of guys with us here in Israel. Y'all say hello and one lady. And thanks for being here with us today, guys. This has been an incredible trip already. I feel like we've already done a week's worth of stuff in one day, but we are here tonight. Nathan, I think it'd be great for you to share just what God has placed on your heart, as we are here in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. [00:28:06] Speaker C: So if you got your Bibles, and I know some of you do, let's go ahead and open them to the Book of Mark. We're going to be looking at Mark, chapter four. But before we get there, I just want to talk about the place that we're at, the Sea of Galilee. Looking around, I had a conversation with a few guys earlier about how we've always pictured in our mind. I heard stories of this place from the time I was a little boy. Probably before I could walk, talk, I was hearing stories about this place and most importantly, about the one who made such an impact on the world through this place. But just being here is something I cannot describe in words. Knowing that Jesus was here, knowing that this is where God literally blessed all the nations of the world through this place and through his Son, Jesus Christ. But we see this location in the Old Testament going back to where the tribes were divided, the land was given, and it's listed out there. And we also see it in Isaiah where it's prophesied that the Messiah would come from the region of Galilee. So in the New Testament, we see that Jesus fulfilled that prophecy and it happened right here. Much of the fishing, the teaching, the miracles all happened in this place. And thinking about all the different places surrounding here, that many we've visited today, you've got Capernaum, Geraisin, Bethsaida, Magdala. We just came from there, Tiberias, Capernaum, like, we got to go visit. We can look around and see these places and see the impact where Jesus ministry happened. His home was just right here. And we got to walk through that place. And as we look through the Gospels and see all that Jesus did, I want to remind you that everything that Jesus did in his ministry served a purpose. And I want to talk to you about that purpose, what the main purpose was. So many times we get distracted by the miracles. We get distracted, which they're amazing. They serve the purpose. We get distracted by the stories. Those are amazing, but they serve the purpose. And when we think of all the things that Jesus did, where he calmed the storm in Matthew, also in Mark, we're going to see. And in Luke, Jesus walks on the surface of the Sea of Galilee. He teaches the crowds on the shore. He preached while standing on a boat in this very body of water. And so many other things that we could talk about. Where he cast out the demons on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, where he's raising Jairus daughter near the Sea of Galilee, healing a man with an unclean spirit. And we got to see firsthand today where they believe the location is where after he rose from the grave, he was able to come and minister to his disciples as the risen Lord and Savior and performed a miracle where they caught all the fish and then they cooked the fish and ate with Jesus. And then he forgave Peter in such a powerful way. And all of that happens within eyesight of what we can see from where we're standing or sitting, this boat. But I want to point something out from Mark, chapter four that just has astounded me. And I heard this idea a few years ago, and it's something that stayed in my heart and impacted me. And I hope I can just encourage you today to focus on what really the purpose of Jesus ministry was and then on what the purpose of our ministry ministry is. So Mark, chapter four, starting in verse 35. On that day when evening had come, Jesus said to them, let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was, and other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already feeling. But he was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. And they woke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. And he said to them, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? I want you to notice how calm and how casual Jesus was in the middle of the storm. He's sleeping. He's perfectly at peace. He's at rest. While everything around him is in turmoil. The storm is happening. And I've heard this sermon presented in many different ways, and it has many different applications. But I want you to think about some of these. Jesus knew the Father had a plan, right? He knew that a storm couldn't derail that. He knew that this was not the death that he was destined for on a ship, on the sea. He understood that. He had faith. We also see that Jesus can command the winds and the storm, and he has power over that. So maybe he was just sleeping because he knew he could just wake up at any moment and say, peace, be still, and then go right back to sleep. But there's something that I really want us to focus on, that Jesus was asleep in the storm instead of fighting a battle that everybody else wanted him to fight, because that battle, the battle of the storm, wasn't connected to his purpose. Jesus didn't come to calm storms. He did calm storms. He did heal the sick. He did so many things to point to who. Who he was, to point to his purpose. But the storm wasn't his purpose for being here. And so he was just asleep. He was focused on something greater than that. You know what happens in the next chapter, right? He goes and he heals the man, forgives his sins, gives him a new purpose in life. That's the reason Jesus came. He came to forgive sins. He came to give people a new life. He came to transform them. And ultimately, the only way he could do that was by his sacrifice on the cross, by his death, by his resurrection. But he came to bless the entire world, to bless all the nations through his work on the cross, through who he was and through what he did. So all the miracles that we see that are amazing, all the stories, all the footsteps of Jesus, all the sights, they don't distract from the main purpose of why Jesus came. So we can think about our life, we can think about our storms. He sometimes makes us go through storms. He doesn't calm every single storm in a miraculous way, but when he chooses to calm the storm, we celebrate. We had a conversation today about Jesus answering prayer in a very direct way. God is just as powerful today as he was when he was standing on a boat teaching, when he was miraculously healing the sick, raising the dead, showing a bunch of fishermen how to catch fish in a way they'd never heard of before. He's just as powerful today. He can do anything he wants to do. And sometimes he calms the storm. But sometimes we go through those storms. Sometimes our family members die. Sometimes we don't get healed of the sickness. Sometimes the Financial miracle we're praying for does not come through. But here's the thing we need to remember about those storms. They don't undo God's purpose. It is going to be accomplished. And when our ministry is about the main thing, like Jesus was. I'm not telling you you're going to sleep through all of your storms. You're not Jesus, I'm not Jesus. But I can guarantee you Jesus isn't in heaven stressing out over your storms. He is sovereign over every single thing that has ever happened in your life or will ever happen in my life. And none of those things will undo God's will for you. So when your ministry, pastors I'm talking to mostly pastors here today, are in some type of ministry, when your ministry is connected to God's purpose, the storms can't stop you. As a matter of fact, think of all the martyrs throughout history. All the disciples we believe, except for John, died as martyrs. Did that undo God's ministry? No, it multiplied it. In Acts, chapter eight, when the persecution arose, did that stall the gospel? No. The gospel exploded in a way that would not have been possible without that storm, without that persecution. So what was Jesus purpose? His purpose was to glorify God and to save men from their sins. What is our purpose? Our purpose is to glorify God and to make disciples because Jesus died to save them from their sin. That is the main thing. If that ever ceases to be the main thing, then we've missed the point and that's when the storms can stop us. Because if I'm about my own agenda, it's not going to survive a storm. It's not going to survive the test of time. So just pause in this moment, in this place, we were sitting out on the dock when the sun rose this morning over the Sea of Galilee. And now the sun is setting as it's done every single day since Jesus was on this very place. And it just reminds us that God is sovereign, that God is in control. Every morning, his mercies are new. I know there are discouraged pastors on this trip. I know there are guys that are doing things that are greater than you're capable of accomplishing on your own. And that's why it's so important to be connected with the true purpose of what our ministry is. And that is to glorify God and to make disciples. The storms will come, but I guarantee you, at the end of ministries or when we're in heaven, we will look back and we will say, the storm is the very thing that helped me accomplish the purposes, but God placed me there. So, guys, I just want us to pause in this moment and just thank God that there's no storm that can stop his will. There's no storm that can stop us when we're connected to his will. And even if we're stopped, even if we get taken out, his truth is marching on. Someone else will take up the flag and the mantle and keep sharing the gospel until the day when he splits the sky and he comes back and he takes us home and he redeems all of his creation, which is what he came to do. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for this visual representation of who you are, of what you did, and God, what you're all about. And Lord, I just pray that you would challenge our hearts as ministers, as people who are trying to share the good news of the gospel with this world. God, would you just remind us that you are in control and that nothing and no one can undo your sovereign plans. That you are good even when we can't see it, that you do care even when we don't understand it, and that you are working all things together for our good. The things that the enemy means, for evil you intended for good. Father, we thank you for the truth of this word that has transformed our lives from thousands of miles away, from the stories we've heard, from the power of the gospel. And then to be able to be here today and just experience this. God, I just want to say, with everyone here on this boat, you are good. Your plans are good, your ways are good. God, I just praise you in this moment, in your creation. In Jesus, you are King of kings, you are Lord of Lords. And we echo with the apostle John even so, Come quickly, Lord Jesus, we long to see you again face to face. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. [00:41:53] Speaker B: Nathan, I love that you brought out that Christ's ultimate purpose was to calm the greatest of all storms, a storm caused by sin that only he could speak peace over. So I'm grateful for that. What did you like most, JC the. [00:42:09] Speaker A: Wording in there where it says peace be still. He didn't say, storm be still. He said, peace be still. What seemed to be a storm to the disciples was just peace of motion. Because Jesus said, before they ever pushed off from shore, before they ever started out, let's go to the other side. There was a purpose and a plan there. He didn't say, we're going to get in the middle of this body and the storm's going to take us out. He said, let's go to the other side. So when you saw him grab a cushion, you should have grabbed a cushion because he's in charge of the storm. That's peace in motion. [00:42:38] Speaker B: Amen to that. [00:42:39] Speaker A: That's good, man. [00:42:40] Speaker B: Nathan, great message. Did you ever dream when we started this podcast that you'd be standing on a boat sharing the story of Jesus calming the storm on this very body of water from the bow of a boat at sunset? [00:42:55] Speaker C: No. Never dreamed. [00:42:57] Speaker B: Yeah. It's just incredible. And to share this time with so many of our family, it's amazing. [00:43:02] Speaker A: We'd love for you to be part of a trip like this in the future because I don't think this is going to be the first time that we go to Israel as the first time. Correct. Let's re edit. I think this is not going to be the last time that we're going to be coming. [00:43:15] Speaker B: That will not be edited. [00:43:16] Speaker A: That will not be edited. Keep it in there because this is the first of many. And, man, we are so excited just to be here and to see all the sites. It's making the Bible really come to life. [00:43:27] Speaker B: Yeah. In a different way. I've already seen things that's changed the way how close Magdala was actually to this body of water. I'd always pictured it being further away, I guess, and it's right on the banks and it's been pretty amazing. [00:43:42] Speaker A: It's great. This is day one. [00:43:44] Speaker B: Day one. [00:43:46] Speaker A: Hey. [00:43:46] Speaker B: We've already learned that movements are still happening. This Mediterranean diet is moving a lot of people, so movements are still happening. [00:43:54] Speaker A: In the Holy Land. Well, thanks for being here with us on the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast. Be sure to stay tuned for more live from Israel. Y'all have a good week. [00:44:06] Speaker B: Be sweet. [00:44:08] Speaker C: Peace. [00:44:08] Speaker A: Thanks for listening to the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast. Be sure to stop by our social media, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Give us a follow. Also go to our website, recoveringfundamentalist.org that's recoveringfundamentalist.org there you can find Recovering Fundamentalist Swag. You can get your T shirts and hats. You can join our X fundy community, see where we're going to be having some meetups. It's the recovering fundamentalist.org be sure to join us next time for the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast.