In straightway, Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and to go before him unto the other side while he sent the multitudes away. When he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit. And they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, Of a truth, thou art the Son of God. Very familiar passage, one that we have read, heard many times, even sermons, but I hope to share a little different wrinkle, if you will, a biblical one, but a different wrinkle to this particular account. There's a real connection between our forgetting the Lord Jesus in his love his power and his holiness, and our falling into temptation to doubt, that he'll actually carry us through that great trial. When remembering his power and his faithfulness are pushed back into the deep dark recesses of our memory, we are far more likely to be overwhelmed by those temptations that assail us. But on the other hand, when we remember our Jesus, when we remember him as the son of God, the mighty God, when we remember him and daily enjoy him and daily commune with him in prayer and in his word, we will see him coming to rescue us in those most difficult trials that confront us. When we are forgetful hearers, we're not ready to do battle with the enemy. of our soul. A forgetful hearer is like the soldier that has fallen asleep on the job. He's not ready for a surprise attack. The disciples in context, we read in John chapter six in our New Testament scripture reading, and then in our reading from Matthew, that's what preceded was the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes to feed 5,000. They had forgotten, they had forgotten the mighty works of God as they set out upon the Sea of Galilee. They were not ready for what was about to happen because they had forgotten, they had not taken to heart They may have been wowed by the miracle that Jesus performed. They were the very ones who were distributing the bread and the fish and kept coming back for more and taking it to 5,000. It wasn't as though they didn't realize and know what Jesus had just done. But it had not taken such root in their heart. They had forgotten so quickly. But they fell into fear as they crossed the Sea of Galilee. The same sinful tendency of forgetfulness will also render us likewise ill-prepared, ill-prepared to face the many trials that come into our life. Main points from our Texas Lord's Day are the following. The prayers of Christ our King, in Matthew 14, verses 22 through 24, Second main point, the power of Christ our King, Matthew 14, verses 25 through 33. And then we're going to go for the third main point to the gospel of Mark, the parallel passage to John 6 and to Matthew 14. We're going to go to Mark 6, 52. And that third main point is the forgetfulness of the disciples. First main point then, the prayers of Christ our priest. Verses 22 through 24, Matthew 14. In straightway, Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and to go before him unto the other side while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. So after the miracle of feeding the 5,000, Jesus immediately compelled his disciples to sail to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. while he himself dispersed the crowd, the multitudes that had been there when he performed the miracle of multiplying the bread and the fish. Why did Jesus not accompany his disciples in the boat? Well, you'll probably remember there was another episode previous to this, Matthew 8, where he was in the boat with them as they crossed the Sea of Galilee. And it was a great storm, but he was there with them. At this particular point, he sends them across knowing what they're about to encounter, and he goes up to a mountain to pray, to pray for them. First time Jesus was in the boat with them, second time he's not in the boat with them. The Lord who calmed the sea and silenced the waves that first time certainly could have prevented the second time the wind and the waves from happening, from falling upon the disciples had he chosen to do so. He had the power to do so. He had the power to keep them from facing that trial a second time, this time without him being even in the boat with them. Why didn't he? Why didn't he prevent that from happening? Well, you see, Jesus is not only seeking to teach them the right doctrine, what is right by way of what is revealed in God's word about God, about man, about the truth, about salvation. He's not only seeking to teach them the right doctrine, but he's also teaching them their need to practice it. Not simply to say I've learned because I have an intellectual knowledge of something, but to say I've learned because I have that knowledge and I'm living it, I'm practicing it. That's not learning when we simply can recite back what somebody has told us. When we can simply say, what is God? God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, unchangeable, and is being, wisdom, holiness, power, goodness, et cetera. And that's not, again, learning it. If we only can recite it, But if we practice what we learn that God is holy and that affects us and the way we live, then we've learned what it is that God is holy. And when we fall and we repent and we seek the mercy of God and flee to him and say, Lord, help me not to continue to fall into that sin, we're learning what God's holiness is all about, living according to who God is. And God's word teaches, Jesus says, blessed are the peacemakers. If we only can recite that, but we don't practice it in our families, if we don't practice it in the church, if we don't practice it in our relationships with one another, We have not really learned what Jesus spoke with regard to the truth. Parents, when do you know your children have truly learned what you have told them to do? When they can simply repeat back to you and say, yeah, mom or dad, you told me to do this. But they don't do it. Have they learned? They've only learned when they practice what you told them to do. When they go forth in obedience and seek and endeavor to do what you told them to do, then you know they've learned that. And so it's true with us as well. Perhaps the disciples thought as the wind and the waves began to pick up in intensity, Oh no, here we are again, reflecting back on the first time. Oh no, here we are again. This time Jesus is not even with us. What's going to happen to us this time? Well, rather than that, they should have again remembered how the Lord delivered them the first time, though he was in the boat with them, and that he was able, even from a distance, to do the same. But they were overcome by fear. at that particular point. He wasn't physically with them. They, however, were not out of his sight or removed from his care. The parallel passage in Mark 6, verses 47 through 48a says, and when he even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea and he alone, speaking of Jesus, and he alone on the land. And he, notice, saw them toiling in rowing. He was on the mountain. He saw them rowing and toiling, for the wind was contrary unto them. Here we see, again, the Lord went up to the mountain to pray for them. He went up to the mountain to teach them, to instruct them. He doesn't have to physically be there. but he's praying for them. His prayers for them are as good as if he were there physically with them. His prayers for us in heaven are as good as if he were in our very presence praying for us. He is loving. and merciful Savior. Here is the loving and effectual prayers of our precious Jesus. for us, his people, whoever lives to make intercession for us. He ever lives, not the saints ever live to make intercession for us. He, Jesus, ever lives to make intercession for us. And we need no intercessor or mediator to get to Jesus. And Jesus doesn't need any intercessor or mediator between him and God. So all we need is the Lord Jesus to intercede for us. Jesus does, dear ones, send us into great trials of faith, but he never sends us forth without effectually praying that our faith would not fail. He never sends us forth into those trials without His power accompanying us and the purpose of that trial being accomplished in the lives of His children. Because His prayers are that our faith would not fail and His prayers for us are that those trials would be used to strengthen us. That we might be able to grow in faith and conformity to Christ and to help others by what we have gone through. The Lord never promises again that we're going to have smooth sailing across the Sea of Galilee. In fact, I would submit to you that those times in which we will grow the most are through the greatest trials that we face. Because when we come out, and we will come out on the other side of all those trials, Jesus has promised it. When he set sail, he said, let us pass over to the other side. There was no doubt that they would make it to the other side. They would have to go through great trials, yes. But that's how we grow. That's how we become conformed to the image of Christ. Christ did not immediately receive the crown of glory. He first received a crown of thorns. Do we think we're better than the Lord Jesus, that we are going to be crowned with our crown of glory in heaven? before we have to wear a crown of thorns here upon the earth, that we will go through times of suffering and trial as well. Peter had to learn that lesson. Jesus, you'll recall, said to him in Luke 22, verses 31 through 32, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But notice here, I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, that is, when thou art turned again, repented, strengthened thy brethren. Lord knows our weaknesses. He knows our sins certainly better than we even know them ourselves. And he prays that even though those trials will reveal our weaknesses and will reveal our sins, he prays that they however would be used in our lives to grow us in our faith. So as you face afflictions, suffering conflicts in relationships, financial upheaval, the loss of loved ones and even your own death. Do you truly know that Jesus is in the heavenly mountain and that he sees you? He sees you rowing against those contrary winds of adversity. and that he with infinite love and tenderness is praying for you that your faith would not fail. Your faith in him would not fail. And that by his grace and his prayers that you would persevere and come out stronger on the other side of that trial. He doesn't send you into that trial to destroy you. He sends you into that trial to see you grow. And so the Lord's admonition to us all is never give up, never give up. We cannot lose when Jesus as our high priest is not just praying for you, but is effectually praying for you. His prayers are always effectual, they accomplish whatever he prays is accomplished. And he's not simply praying for a nameless, faceless group of people, he's praying for you individually. Praying for you, that your faith as his people will not fail. The next main point, the power of Christ, our King, in verses 25 through 33. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit. And they cried out for fear. But straightway, Jesus spake unto them saying, be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying of a truth, thou art the son of God. We know from previous portions in the gospel accounts that most of the disciples were experienced fishermen. They knew how to handle the sea. They'd been out on the sea all of their lives. But again, Jesus puts them into a situation in which all confidence in their own abilities could not save them, could not rescue them. Why did he do so? So that Jesus might be shown to be their almighty anchored even during such a storm. You know, that's a hard lesson for us to learn. not to put confidence in our own flesh, not to trust our own understanding, to lean upon him rather than upon our own mere strength. We have to learn that in the Christian life, every single day, that our confidence has to be in him. He gives us gifts, yes. He gives us physical strength. He gives us all of these things, not so that we can trust in them, but so that we can trust in him who gave them to us. And so the disciples had to learn. They couldn't depend upon their abilities to rescue them. to depend upon the Lord to rescue them. By the time the disciples were on their way to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, we're told in John 6, 17, it was dark. It was about, according to Matthew 14, it was about the fourth watch of the night that Jesus came and appeared into his disciples walking on the water in verse 25, the fourth watch of the night. Four watches of the night, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. the first watch, 9 p.m. to midnight the second watch, midnight to 3 a.m. the third watch, and 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. the fourth watch. It was the fourth watch that Jesus came to them. Disciples had likely been rowing and rowing and rowing against this fierce storm for several long hours when the Lord finally appeared unto them. For that entire time that they were struggling, Jesus saw their intense struggle. He saw them from up on the mountain, watched them struggling against this storm. And he was praying for them. Though he was not physically with them, he saw what they were going through. Why did Jesus wait so long to come to their aid? He waited until the fourth watch. to come to help them so as to bring them again to the point of a desperate faith as opposed to a mere convenient faith. Jesus often waits in our own lives until the fourth watch of the night to rescue us. from those afflictions, from those trials, from the suffering that would overwhelm us. But dear ones, His timing, even if it is the fourth watch of the night, His timing is always perfect. Even if we would have prayed, Lord, come to me in the first watch of the night, He knows what's best if he doesn't come in the first watch of the night, but rather comes in the fourth watch of the night. He knows what's best for us. He's all wise. He never comes a second too early, nor does he ever come a second too late in rescuing us. But rescue us, he will. See, our trials, teach us to cast ourselves upon the Lord and to trust in his infinite wisdom. We may feel battered. We may feel as if we have been deserted, that he's not with us, but he knows what he is doing. in every single circumstance. He knows what he is doing, even if we don't know what he is doing. He knows what he is doing. And that's where our confidence has to be. We don't have to, dear ones, know the why. That's what we often want to know. Why, Lord? Why is this happening? Why? But you know, the Lord sometimes does reveal to us the why, but he doesn't necessarily always reveal to us the why, because what's most important is not that he revealed to us the why, but the who, himself. Who is in control? Who is all wise? Who is almighty? Who loves you with an infinite and everlasting love? Who is praying for you? It's more important for us to know the who than to know the why. And here comes Jesus to his disciples, not in the first watch, not in the second watch, not in the third watch of the night, but in the fourth watch of the night. Here he comes walking victoriously as our king upon the stormy waves to show forth his mighty power in delivering us or giving us renewed strength to persevere. The Lord can't immediately take us out of the situation that we're facing. He is able to do that if he so chooses. But if he doesn't do so, he always gives us the grace and the faith to persevere and to do what's right. and to do what is right from a willingness on our part, not simply because we can do no other, but to do so because we know our God who loves us is in control and he's using it for our good. 1 Corinthians 10, 13, there is no temptation taking you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful. who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able. And we stop there and we think, that means that he's gonna take us out of the situation. But it goes on. But will with the temptation also make a way to escape. And the escape doesn't come by taking us out of the situation most of the time. But will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it. that you may endure, that you may persevere. He gives that strength. And dear ones, I submit to you, that's a greater act of power on the part of God when he gives us the grace to persevere through trials rather than just taking us out of the situation. Then we have, again, the opportunity to see how mighty our God is because we know how weak we are. but he upheld us, he strengthened us, he helped us to make it through another day by his grace and he'll do so the next day by his grace. The disciples were even more terrified, if they could have been more terrified, at the wind and the waves, but they were even more terrified when they saw what appeared to be a spirit coming to them upon the waters. The word troubled in Matthew 14, 26 has the idea of being shaken, shaken with confusion and perplexity. Now their fears have completely overwhelmed them. And then come the comforting words of Christ our prophet. We've seen Jesus as our priest, Jesus as our king, Jesus as our prophet who reveals to us his will. And he comes to his disciples and he says, it is I, be not afraid. It is I, be not afraid. See, there's the word that calms all our fears. It is, I be not afraid. When we truly know that Jesus Christ, the almighty, the eternal son of God, the lover of our souls is with us, fear must flee. For sinful fear, dear ones, cannot coexist with and abide in the presence of Jesus Christ, the sovereign King, any more than darkness can abide where the light is turned on. When we are fully aware that God is with us, that Jesus Christ speaks to us and says, it is I, be not afraid. And we believe our great prophet when he says that to us. And he says it to us many times in many ways throughout his word, be not afraid. Then that's when fear is dispelled. That's when fear does not overwhelm us. Even if we don't understand what's going on, we can trust that he is with us. Well, at this particular point, which is not revealed in John's gospel, but is revealed here in Matthew's gospel, Peter, hearing the words of Jesus, seeks permission from Jesus to come out to Jesus on the water. And this is usually where much of the emphasis falls, and it's very, very important that we understand what's going on here. I believe that Peter's faith and love were genuine in wanting to come to Jesus. But as Jesus says, Peter's faith was weak. Now, that's not a contradiction. Weak faith is real faith. It may not be strong faith, but weak faith is real faith. However, obstinate disobedience is no faith at all. Peter actually joins the Lord on the water and walks out toward the Lord Jesus at Christ's invitation. Nowhere else do we find that happening in all scripture that a mere human being walked on the water as did Peter, quite amazing. And all is going very well as long as Peter's eye of faith is fixed upon the Lord Jesus. But as soon as Peter begins to look around him at the veracity of the wind, to fill the wind, to fill the splashing of the waves against him. And his eyes are taken off of the Lord Jesus. Through fear, he sinks into the depths of the sea. And in desperation, Peter cries out to the Lord and the Lord Jesus mercifully rescues Peter and walks back to the boat with Peter. And as soon as they entered the boat, we're told that the storm ceases immediately. We not only see the amazing power of Christ in rescuing Peter from drowning, but also in giving Peter the power to defy even the law of nature and to walk on the water himself. Because the law of nature is not some impersonal law. The law of nature is simply God's order. that he is established in the universe. He rules by way of the laws that he has established and he can violate those laws anytime he chooses to do so. He's the God of creation, God of nature. And he did so in the case of Peter. Note how tender the Lord is with this doubting Christian and verse 31, Matthew 14, 31. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Lord, does not leave Peter to perish in his sin of doubt? He does not Come across cruelly, harshly with Peter, he gives him a loving correction. Why didn't you trust me? O thou of little faith. We're very much like Peter. Even though Jesus is there to rescue and to save us, day in and day out, and he does so. We also can identify with Peter because we so often are people of little faith to trust him. Peter may have felt like he was drowning, but Jesus was there to rescue him. And so he'll do for you. and he will do for you daily. He will rescue you. He will bring you through that to the other side in his time. Again, it may not be the first, second, or third watch of the night. It may be the fourth watch, but he will come to you. He will rescue you. Jesus not only wondrously demonstrated his kingship here, over all creation by walking on the water, wherein he subdues all things that he has made unto himself, but also by silencing the mighty storm immediately. As he and Peter stepped into the boat in verse 32. For hours, for hours, these experienced fishermen had struggled to get to shore and couldn't do so, and in a moment, and in a moment, because of the power of Jesus, the waves and the wind entirely ceased and stopped. To go from such utter chaos and confusion to such peace in a moment I submit to you illustrates what Jesus is able to do in your life and in mine. In the midst of our storms, he is able to bring peace. Colossians 3.15, very short, but very powerful. And let the peace of God rule in you. That's a command. That's a command. Let the peace of God rule in you. Because that is already a grace purchased by the Lord. It's one of the fruit of the Spirit, which Jesus purchased for every child of God. and is implanted within us in our regeneration, it's there. Let it rule in your life. Let his peace, the peace the disciples knew when Jesus came to them and said, it is I, be not afraid, and brought the sea and the storm to an end, that peace. is a peace, no matter what you are going through, that is yours in Jesus Christ. The question is, will we, in the situations we face, will we avail ourselves of that peace? Will we allow that peace to control and rule over us, which is to allow Jesus to rule over us and to control us. And the disciples confess that Jesus is the son of God. He is God in the flesh. And so must we. The third last main point. the forgetfulness of the disciples and you again may want to turn to Mark 6 verses 51, 52 for this last main point. And this picks up at this particular point in the narrative where the storm, or when Jesus and Peter get into the boat and the wind and storm ceases, and it says, and he went up unto them into the ship, and the wind ceased. And they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure and wondered. And notice this last portion, verse 52. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves, for their heart was hardened. Takes us back to the miracle which Jesus performed in multiplying the loaves of bread and the fishes. Why did they not do better than they did in the midst of that storm. They did not remember. They forgot what the Lord had done miraculously a few hours before. In multiplying the bread and the fish to feed thousands, they forgot. And therefore, because they forgot, They were tossed and their fears arose. They were overwhelmed in that situation by fear. Herein is expressed, I believe, the root problem which Jesus sought to expose in the faith of his disciples. And that's why I said, I think this is maybe a little different wrinkle as we understand this narrative in God's word. Mark, in Mark chapter six, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit attributes what they went through and the way they handled that situation. or did not handle that situation, he attributes it to their forgetfulness. Their forgetfulness led them to doubt. Their forgetfulness led them to disbelieve. They forgot who Jesus is. Consider it. Similar exhortations from the Lord in his word. For example, in Psalm 103, verses one through five, about not forgetting, remembering. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits. What are some of those benefits? Who forgiveth all thine iniquities. who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfy thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. Forget not the benefits of the Lord. Likewise, and it comes through in many, many places in scripture, not to forget, but to remember, In Deuteronomy chapter eight, beginning with verse 11, here God's people are about to enter into the promised land. Moses is rehearsing for them the law of God and they will renew their covenant with the Lord before entering into the promised land. But here the Lord does give to them his word of exhortation, once again, not to forget. I'll begin with verse 11. Beware that thou forget not. Once again, notice how many times that's mentioned in this passage. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments and his judgments and his statutes which I command thee this day, lest when thou hast eaten and art full and has built goodly houses and dwelt therein, and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied. And all that thou hast is multiplied. That's very easy. I'll pause for a moment. It's very easy to forget when everything's going well. But the Lord is saying, I'm warning you, don't forget me when things are going well. Verse 14, then thine heart be lifted up and thou forget the Lord thy God. which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions and drought, where there was no water, who brought thee forth water out of the rock of Flint, who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee and that he might prove thee to do thee good at thy latter end. And thou say in thine heart, my power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember, notice again, don't forget, but remember, thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swear unto thy fathers as it is this day. And it shall be, notice again the warning, if thou do it all, forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroys before your face, so shall ye perish. because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. Remember, don't forget. The Lord is continually reminding us in his word, don't forget. It's so easy to forget, as did the disciples a few hours after this mighty miracle. And the Lord takes them into a situation where had they remembered The trial still may have come, but they would pass through that trial in a different way, not in fear, but in overcoming faith. By way of application from what we have learned this Lord's Day, first, should we be concerned about our forgetfulness of God's promises and his warnings. Should we be concerned about that at all? Well, let's ask it a different way. As parents, are you concerned if your child continues to use the excuse, but dad, mom, I forgot. And this is not, you know, a little child that may need to be reminded of what he is to do or she is to do. But let's just assume that this is a child that knows and understands but continues to use that excuse, I forgot. You see, there comes a time, even as Christians, when forgetfulness is no longer a viable reason for not doing what we are told. I mean, as Christians, it's never a viable reason, but even as parents, we may allow that when a child is especially very young. But as Christians, again, there isn't a viable excuse or reason for saying, but I forgot. If we continue to Except that forgetfulness, that excuse of forgetfulness from our children as an excuse for their disobedience, how are we training them? We're training them to continue to make excuses for their disobedience even into adulthood. That's true of all of us. That's why God does not tolerate. our forgetfulness. We cannot say, but God, I forgot. He compels us, he warns us, he promises us blessings if we will remember, but he also warns us there will be discipline if we do forget. Second application, forgetfulness in the Christian life, I submit to you is just another word very often for neglectfulness. Just another word for I've neglected to do what I should have done. We are forgetful because we are so neglectful and have not put Christ and his mighty works in the preeminent place that he and his works so highly deserve to be placed in our lives. You see, we usually remember that which is truly important to us. We don't usually forget our birth date. Maybe as we get older, we might forget our birth date, but usually we don't forget our birth date. Why? Because that's important to us. And likewise, if Christ And if remembering who he is in all of his glory, remembering his promises that he's made to us, it is I be not afraid in the midst of our trials that we face, remembering his warnings, if those are important to us, then we'll remember them. We won't be forgetful if they're important to us, if they are preeminent, because we'll be rehearsing them. We'll be rehearsing them every day. We'll be, if necessary, writing them down, putting them on sticky notes, and putting them in convenient, noticeable places to help us remember. And we will practice. If we have forgotten and we use that excuse, we don't need and we should never continue to say, but I forgot. because we can write it down. We can do things that will help us to remember if that's truly important to us. You see, when the truth is really written upon our hearts, when the truth is written upon our desires, when the truth is written upon our will, we will truly want to remember. But when it's not written upon our heart and our affections and our will to remember, we won't remember. And so the question is, do we want to remember? Do we truly desire to remember? Or do we rather desire to forget? Another application There's a question, are you a forgetful hearer or are you an effectual doer of God's word? You see, we will find ourselves falling into the sea of doubt in our lives if we do not remember his truth and his works, if we do not meditate upon them, if we do not talk about who he is and what he's done amongst our peers. Dear young people, young adults, you don't have to wait till you're my age to talk with one another about the things of God. You shouldn't be ashamed to talk about the things of God with one another. It should come, again, if it's written upon our hearts, it should come because we want to talk about the things of God. Not because someone is pulling it out of us, but because we desire to talk about the things of God. Because that's what's important. That's what's most important in our lives. See, without a remembering heart, Fear, doubt, unbelief, and sin of every kind will likely take advantage of us. The disciples fell because they did not remember Christ in all of his glory, power, mercy, faithfulness, and righteousness. And we will do the same if we do not remember him. And the last application is this. And it's the most glorious truth. Although we might forget him, he will never, ever forget us. Never. Jesus will never forget you, his people. We're reminded of that truth in Isaiah 49, verses 14 through 16. But Zion said, the Lord hath forsaken me. And my Lord hath forgotten me. Because of the enemies that God had brought against his people. They said, the Lord has forgotten us. And then the Lord goes on to say, can a woman forget her sucking child? that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they, that is a mother, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee? Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before me. The Lord assures us he will not forget us. He's praying for us. That truth melts my heart because I certainly forget the Lord. At various times, the fact that the Lord does not forget me, that's the gospel. That's the gospel of salvation, that Jesus Christ will not forget us. Take hope. Wherever you are, take hope, take courage as the children of the living God for Jesus comes to you. Even if it's in the fourth watch of the night, he comes to you in the midst of the greatest storms that you face now or ever will face and he says to you, it is I, be not afraid.