Mrs. Korolewski will head you down there. For the rest of you, open up your Bibles to Genesis chapter 18. If you don't have a Bible, we have Bibles in the back of the room so you can follow along with us. Genesis 18 and we are going to study half of the chapter today. So that's Genesis chapter 18 Verse 1 all the way through verse 15. That's Genesis chapter 18. Verse 1 all the way through verse 15. This is God's holy word. And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. As he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. While I bring a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves and after that you may pass on since you have come to your servant. So they said, do as you have said. And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, quick, three sieves of fine flour, knead it and make cakes. And Abraham ran to the herd and he took a calf, tender and good. And he gave it to a young man who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and he set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said to him, where is Sarah, your wife? And he said, she is in the tent. The Lord said, I will surely return to you about this time next year. And Sarah, your wife shall have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, the way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself saying, after I am worn out and my Lord is old, shall I have pleasure? The Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh and say, shall I indeed bear a child now that I am old? Is anything too old for the Lord? At the appointed time, I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son. But Sarah denied it, saying, I did not laugh. for she was afraid. He said, no, but you did laugh. No, but you did laugh. I received good news this past week. Through an email, I found out that I had been donated $2 million. by a recent Powerball lottery winner. I didn't know him personally, but for whatever reason, he felt led to donate $2 million to my email address. The only thing I still have to do is him and I have to interact with one another on email, and then we'll figure out how to get the money into my account. Hopefully you're looking at me with as much skepticism and doubt as I did reading this email. I mean, the reality is, if every email that I've received like that was true, I would be a multi-millionaire, maybe even close to a billionaire. You see, we're bombarded by news like that all the time. It's too good to be true. Scams and deceit are encountered every day, resulting in us being cynical and jaded and skeptical of true blessing, always wondering what the catch is. But here's the good news, friends. God's promises are never too good to be true. because our God is too good for his promises to not be true. Did you catch that? God's promises are never too good to be true because our God is too good for his promises to not be true. And that's what we're gonna be looking at this morning as we break down this passage, that we have a God who we can rest in, we have a God who we can trust in, we have a God who reassures us time and again that his blessings are not too good to be true. If you're taking notes and want to go get a glimpse of where we're going, we're going to unpack the passage in two trajectories, two thoughts. One, we're going to see that he is hospitable to the Lord. We're going to see Abraham being hospitable to the Lord. So he's very generous. very giving of his availability, of his time, of his resources as he meets with the Lord and these two angels. But then secondly, we're going to see that he gets to have the blessing of hearing from the Lord. So he gets to hear from the Lord as God reaffirms yet again his covenant with Abraham. So let's begin. Let's pick up at verse 1. and see that he is hospitable to the Lord. Last week, we saw Abraham, he received a new name. So he went from Abram to what? Abraham. So he went from being a father, which he was yet to be a father of the promised seed, he had been a father of Ishmael, and now he's gonna be a father of a multitude. He was also given a covenant sign. And if you remember chapter 17, really the heart behind chapter 17 is God reassuring him that he is not done with Abraham yet. There was a 13 year window of apparent silence from God to Abraham. And now God reappears to him. He reconfirms the covenant. He renews the covenant. He's not giving him a new covenant, but he's telling Abraham, I'm not done with you yet. In a very short time, I'm going to bring a child your way. After this meeting from last week on chapter 17, chapter 18 is a short time. We don't know how long between the two chapters, but it seems to be relatively close. He appears to Abraham. First thing I wanted to see is that he is available to serve. He's available to serve. And it says, the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. So you can imagine it's midday, Middle Eastern culture. It's hot. It's the heat of the day. This last week, we've had a lot of heat of the day. Anybody outside much the last week? I'm assuming you can understand, you can relate, you're out in the sun, the sun is draining you physically, you're sweaty, you're tired, and you at some point either go into the air conditioning or you go under a shade and you get some rest, you try to revive yourself. Well, it seems like that is happening right here. with Abraham. So he is resting, he's tired, he's getting some rest, maybe even dozing off because he looks up and voila, three men appear before him. Notice his response though. In verse 2, he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, what did he do? He ran from the tent door to meet them. He bowed himself to the earth and he said, oh Lord, if I found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Notice his availability. Notice Abraham's eagerness to serve and to be available in the moment. And I think that's relevant for you and I because we constantly encounter people who are not available. How many times have you tried to make an appointment, maybe at a doctor? I've always been amazed with dermatologists, and this is not a critique on dermatologists, but when you call and say, hey, I need to get an appointment, I'd like to, they'll be talking to you months away. Like you call them tomorrow and it is July tomorrow, they would say, okay, well in October, and I'm like, what if I'm dying? They're like, well, in October, We can get you in. You understand it's that availability or it's a fancy restaurant and you're trying to get a reservation. You call them like, hey, I'd love to get into your restaurant next week. And they're saying, okay, in July 31st, we can get you in. It's just that availability. Or there might be people you know. who their schedules are booked day by day that, hey, we would love to have you over, when are you available? And you guys have to look weeks out and try to juggle each other's calendars because everybody is just so full in their schedule and they're not available. And what do we see with Abraham here? In the moment, spur of the moment, is Abraham available? He is. He shows it by his actions. He runs out there. He bows down. He pleads with them. Please stay. Allow me to serve you. He is available. It reminds me of Isaiah chapter 6 verse 8. The Lord appears before Isaiah and he says, Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? And what does Isaiah respond with? Here I am. Send me. You notice he doesn't appear to be reluctant. He is eager to serve. Well, I have to ask you, friends, are you available to God like that? Do you tell God, well, in October, in a few months, I think I'll have a window where I can serve you. Does it show through your actions? But not only his actions that he's available to serve, it's his attitude. One of the things we don't see here with Abraham is there is no complaining. There is no grumbling. The Bible's very good at pointing out when there's grumbling. The Israelites, his lineage in the wilderness, we hear about them grumbling and complaining. It consistently says when they're complaining or when they're not. And we don't see that with him. 1 Peter 4, 9, Peter says, show hospitality towards one another without grumbling. And Abraham serves without grumbling. He doesn't appear to be annoyed or inconvenienced. He doesn't try to hide in the tent. Hey, maybe if we hide long enough that people will leave and assume we're not here. You see, often you and I can be available on the outside and not available on the inside. That we'll serve out of duty, we'll serve out of obligation, but all the while we look at people as an inconvenience, as a burden, but we don't see that with Abraham here. He is eager, he is available to the Lord. Let's do a heart check right here. Do you find people to be inconvenient? Are you only able to serve when it fits your schedule, when it's people that you like to be around? How often do you complain? How often do you grumble? How often do you pretend like you're not grumbling, complaining until the person's gone and you're like, oh, that person again. You see, he's available to serve, but not only is he available to serve, he is able to sacrifice. So it goes down to verse four. He pleads with them, I'll bring a little water, wash your feet, rest yourselves, I'll bring a morsel of food. He's underselling what he's about to do. And then he goes out, he rushes to Sarah, hey, let's start getting some food together. You work on this part, I'll go get the meat. And he goes and he goes out of his way to prepare this meal for these people. Now, here's the thing. We don't know at what point Abraham knows that these three men are, one is the Lord and then there are two angels. We don't know that. We're assuming too much that immediately he knew who it was. He had seen God in a fire theophany already, God had communicated elsewhere with him, but this seems to be the first time that God appeared as a man before him. We would commonly refer to this as a likely pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. So before Jesus took on flesh and the Son of God was born of the Virgin, this was God appearing in man, this pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. It also might be what Hebrews chapter 13 verse 2 is referencing. He says, do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. So we don't know. And even the term Lord isn't exclusive to him talking to God. It was a term of respect. So we don't know. At some point, he clearly knows who he's before. But notice what he does. Regardless, he shows hospitality. In that culture, hospitality was huge. They were measured by it. It was natural for them to not be self-absorbed, like we often are in our culture, to serve. And he shows this hospitality. But remember what Jesus said, what you do to the least of me, you do unto me." So even if he thought it was the Lord, it's still a sense, an extension of hospitality. It's really love demonstrated towards those you don't know. Literally means love strangers. It means kindness to them. First Peter 4 and 9 says, show hospitality to one another without grumbling. each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as God's stewards of God's very grace. So hospitality is us showing love towards those that maybe we don't even have a relationship with. Because it's easy, don't you agree? It's easy to show love towards people you know. Is it easy to love the people who are your close, intimate friends? Is it easy to, this last week we've had family in from out of town and we showed tons of hospitality with one another because it's family. We're close with each other. We fellowship, we ate, we laughed. That's easy to do, but showing love to strangers puts us out of our comfort zone. If you've ever heard of Rosaria Butterfield, I would look her up if I was you. hear her testimony. It's remarkable. She was a feminist, a lesbian professor at a university. She was becoming tenured. I mean, she was really thriving in that environment. And she ended up becoming a believer in Jesus Christ. And the number one way that God used to draw her to Christ was hospitality of a pastor and his wife who kept inviting her into their home and they had conversation and they ate. And over a season of time, God used that as the fertile soil through his word to draw her to Christ. And that's what we're called to do. Love your neighbors as yourself. And this is inconvenient. This is sacrificial. I was very convicted as I read through this and as I prepared this week because this is an area that I need to grow in and my wife and I, we need to grow in because we're sometimes hospitable, but we could do so much more. But you excuse things, well, the house isn't clean and well, we're busy and you just, it's very easy to rationalize and to justify not loving strangers. And yet God has called us to do it. Now, does that mean we don't exercise caution? Does that mean you see somebody on the side of the road who potentially has a gun and says, hey, come over and stay at my house for the next week? No, you use wisdom, you use discernment. But the point is, how do you treat strangers? And notice all the things he sacrificed. He sacrifices food. He takes a calf that's tender and good. I mean, he gives them good food. It's giving God from what you have, even the blessings. Genesis 12 to he says I will make you a great nation and I will bless you I will make your name great so that you will be a blessing and Abraham is doing what? He's applying this God has blessed me so that I can bless others and he blesses these three men whether he knows for sure It's the Lord or not. He still blesses these men Dr. Francis Schaeffer, him and his wife, ran a hospitality and study in Switzerland, and it was called Labrie. And the one thing that was always profound about this organization was he said, every Christian home is meant to have a door that swings open. Every Christian home is meant to have a door that swings open. So is your home have a door? Does your home have a door that swings open? How sacrificial are you for others? Maybe even a practical application is after church today, you invite somebody over, maybe not for today, but later in the week. Just showing hospitality, because that is what God has called us to do. So we see he's available to serve, he's able to sacrifice, and then lastly, he aims to see. Listen where he goes on. Right, at verse eight it says, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. Notice what Abraham doesn't do. He doesn't just show hospitality. He gives them their food. He's like, all right, you guys done? All right, it was great. It was great. I need to go back to my rest. Thanks for visiting. Show yourself out. See you later. No, he stays there. And I think at this point, he's starting to realize who is there and it's God. And you begin to see the heart of Abraham, that he wants more than anything, fellowship with God. He wants to be in the presence of God. James 2.23, it says, Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. He was called, and listen to this, this is one of the best nicknames in all of the Bible. He was called a friend of God. You see, Abraham was more than just available to serve God. He was more than just able to sacrifice of his time and energy and resources. Here is the heart of the matter, and please understand this. Abraham's heart, Abraham's desire is he wanted God above all. He wanted that relationship part, that he wanted communion. I think of anything, 13 years of silence with God made him hungry and thirsty for moments with God. that he longed for it, and when God came along, he was eager to be a part of it, that he was not too busy. And you see, you and I, we often struggle with that reality because you and I often are too busy for God. It reminds me of a country song. Here's the lyrics. There's a little boy in the driveway, his basketball in hand, saying, Daddy, could we play a little one-on-one? You pat him on the back and say, not now, son. I'm a busy man. And I think we'd be embarrassed to say that in front of each other with God, but if we're being candid, if we're being honest with each other, whether we've said it or not, we've demonstrated being too busy for God. I've got too much on my plate. I need my extra sleep. So we refrain from having time in the word and in prayer. I'm too busy to meet with God's people. We find all these reasons and these justifications and these explanations for why I'm just, I'm too busy. Psalm 42, he wasn't too busy. As a deer pants for flowing streams of water, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for you, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? You see, God has created each and every one of us to long for his presence. Revelation 3.20 says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me. It's that idea of fellowship, of being in the presence of God. You remember the argument between Martha and Mary when Jesus came? And Martha was annoyed that she's doing all the serving while Mary's sitting there and she's desiring the greater things. Well, are you valuing the presence of God in your life? Do you long to be with him? Are you satisfied too easily by the things of this world? Because that's the problem. You're longing for satisfaction, every single one of us. And what we do is we strive to fulfill that hunger, to meet that thirst, but we do it through the things of the world. And every time we drink of that cup, every time we eat of that food, we are left hungry and thirsty. And what God is showing us even here is that what I desire of you more than anything is that you desire me. That's what you were created for. The glories of heaven is we get God. Heaven isn't the end. Heaven isn't the aim. No, it's being in the presence of God is what is so great and glorious. Maybe today's the day that you need to go before God and say, please change my appetite. Please change my desire. Please make a transformation take place, God, that I value you more than this world. Because this world is fleeting, but our Lord is not. So we saw this hospitality, the first part of our passage with the Lord, that he's available to serve, he's able to sacrifice. He aims to see, let's now turn our attention down to verse nine, as he returns back to the promises and specifically involves Abraham's wife, Sarah. As we see that he gets to hear from the Lord, we see that there is laughter. We see that there's laughter. So look at verse nine with me. They said to him, where is Sarah your wife? Now remember, this is God. Does God not know where Sarah is? He knows where she is. It's the same thing when he's in the garden. He's not playing hide and seek. Like, where did you all go? No, he knows. He knows exactly where Sarah is. And Abraham responds, oh, she's in the tent. Now you need to realize these tents would have been larger. There would have been multiple compartments. So she's hiding behind a certain part. And the Lord says, I will surely return to you about this time next year. And Sarah, your wife shall have a son. It has been, let's remember, 24 years. Anybody sitting here today younger than 24 years, raise your hands. So think about it, 24 years ago, you hadn't even been around and this promise came. 24 years, Sarah was promised that she would have a child and it has not happened. And Sarah was listening at the tent door. Abraham and Sarah were old. They were advanced in years. It says the way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So think of this physically. She was no longer capable to have a child. She could no longer get pregnant when it came to the human body, physically speaking. So in verse 12, listen to what happens. So Sarah laughs to herself. After I'm worn out and my Lord is old, shall I have pleasure? It's the second time laughter has happened with this. Chapter 17, last week, Abraham fell on his face and he laughed. Shall a child be born to a man who's 100 years old? Shall Sarah, who's 90 years old, is she going to bear a child? Are you serious? That's a good one, God. That's hilarious. You see, Sarah's struggling. She's struggling between faith and unbelief. She's not either or. She's kind of in the middle road. She doesn't say it can't happen. She's like, really? This seems unlikely. She's struggling. Has anybody ever thrown away a piece of furniture because it was too old? Or maybe clothing because it was too worn out? We had a couch, and you can imagine with six kids and five boys, they used it as a trampoline. We did so much repair work over about a 10-year window on this couch. And then it came to a point where we replaced boards and there were springs and it just got really bad. We had an aunt and uncle who ended up giving a nice couch that they were giving away to us. So we traded out a good couch for the junkie couch. We got rid of it. I don't know about you with clothing. There's several times I've just had to get rid of clothes because I wear my clothes hard. Historically, I don't do it as much. When I was younger, I would walk and I would kind of drag my feet. It was called the Hillward Shuffle in my house and with my family. And what it would do is the toe of my shoes would wear out. Back in the day, I was like Air Jordans. So my dad would buy me these $100 shoes. Six months later, I've got a hole in the toe because I would drag. So it's that idea of being worn out. That is the language that Sarah uses here. She's like, I'm worn out. I'm old. I'm ready to be thrown out. And you mean to tell me I'm going to have a baby? Even the idea of pleasure is probably the physical intimacy of her with Abraham. Like, really? Like, this is ludicrous. This is ridiculous. She is battling that unbelief. And that's really the struggle for us with faith. Think of the disciples. They're on the boat. There's a storm. Some of these are seasoned sailors, so this isn't new to them. Matthew 8.25, save us, Lord, for we're perishing. And Jesus says, why are you afraid? Oh, you have little faith. Then he arose, he rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. We have doubting Thomas says, unless I get to touch, unless I get to feel, I will not believe. We believe when we see, we trust when we're safe. And once again, God is gracious and gentle with Sarah and Abraham. Well, I need to ask you today, in the quietness of your heart, what's going on with your life right now that you're battling unbelief? Maybe it's a health scare. Maybe it's financial worries. Maybe it's some relational problems with your children or close friends or family members. What is currently unsettling you that's making you restless? Are you having a hard time looking beyond the circumstances to the God who's sovereign over them? Because where there's laughter, there is also no limit. There is no limit. Look at verse 13. So the Lord says to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh? Shall I indeed, and say, shall I indeed bear a child now that I'm old? And then notice the question. She had asked the question, can I have a child? I'm old. Now it's God's turn to ask a question. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Is anything too difficult? Is anything too great? Is anything too challenging for me as El Shaddai, the Almighty God? Is anything beyond what I'm capable of overcoming? Is what he asked Abraham and Sarah. So after church today, after I clear everything up, we are gonna have a contest to see who has the best vertical jump amongst the group. Contrary to our insurance person who's probably thinking this is a really bad idea. So we're going to do it. We'll jump up. And if you can jump as high as the backboard, that'll be kind of the starting point for who's high. We're not doing this. We're not. But here's the thing. If we did it hypothetically, best case scenario, probably the best jumper in our group maybe is jumping a little bit above the hoop, the basket, the rim, not the hoop. I'm 100% confident. Would you agree? Nobody is jumping up and touching the ceiling. Why? Because nobody has the ability to jump like that. We are constantly confronted with the limited ability of us. There's a limited ability to how fast you can be, how strong you are, how much information you can comprehend, how well you can understand. We are finite, limited people, and I think what we do is when we encounter situations, we look at them through our limited, finite ability, and we view that everything that we encounter also has limits. That's why Mary was so confused. Luke 134, Mary says, how's this gonna be? I'm a virgin. How can a virgin have a baby? And it says, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High will overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. And then he goes on to verse 37, for nothing is impossible with God. You and I, we look at these situations, we look at those circumstances that I asked you, what is overwhelming you right now? What is causing you to be restless? What is disturbing you? We look at those situations with our limited ability and we fret, we worry, we doubt because our human reason can't imagine how in the world we're gonna be able to overcome that scenario. Listen to this. If you don't remember anything today, God's only limits are self-imposed as they relate to his character and divinity. In other words, God can't sin because he's God. God can't lie because he's God. He would cease to be God in his character if he did that. But what God is capable of is far beyond what you and I think is possible. When he talked of rich people and how difficult it was for them to be saved, then the disciples asked, who can be saved? He says, with man, this is impossible. With God, all things are possible. God has restored the most broken relationship because he restored the relationship between man and sinner, between God and sinners. God has overcome the greatest health crisis. He's raised dead people. God has, provided where there was no finances. There is not a situation that you or I are in this morning that God is not able to be victorious over. Well, do you put limits on what God is capable of doing? Do you doubt his ability to work through difficult obstacles? To be really honest, do you have a big view of God? I mean, don't we love the view of children when it comes to ourselves? Kids look at mom and dad as able to do things that are ridiculous. They think we have all the money in the world, we have all the ability in the world. They have this childlike faith. And yet you and I, we view God who actually has all the ability, has all the resources, and we look at him very skeptically, very cynical, very doubtful of whether he can do it or not. And then if he can do it, why would he want to do it? Because it's me. And there's laughter, there's no limit. And then lastly, there's lying. So he says, at the appointed time, I'm gonna return. So next year, you and Sarah are gonna be holding a son. But then listen what Sarah does. She denies it. I did not laugh. That's untrue. I might've giggled, but I was thinking of a funny joke Abraham said earlier. I tripped in. I did not laugh at you, God. And he looks and says, no, but you did laugh. She's battling doubt. God reminds her nothing's too hard for her, but rather than rest in the Lord, she denies and laughs. Why would you lie to God? Think about that. I mean, can we lie to God? I mean, today we can lie to people. I mean, there's even ways now, if you have to take a lie detector test, that there are ways to control your breathing, your heart rate in a way that you can lie under oath with a lie detector test. And if you're good at it, it will appear that you are telling the truth. We can lie to anybody. People lie to people all the time. Husbands lie to wives, wives lie to husband, children love to parents. I mean, just workers lie to employers. Here's the deal, you can't lie to God because God can't be tricked. Psalm 139 says, oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up, even before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it all together. Think about that. God knows the words that are gonna be on your tongue before they come. So why in the world do you and I lie to God? Why do you and I pretend like everything's right? Why do you and I, are we afraid that God's gonna know the truth? I mean, the irony is God's gonna have them name the child Isaac, which means laughter, because it's gonna be a reminder to them how foolish and ridiculous it was that these old people had a child. And all the while, it's also a constant reminder that God is able. He's gracious. He is merciful. But I think deep down, what we need to think about with our lying is that God knows you better than you know you. And rather than being afraid of that, rather than being frightened by that reality, that should be encouraging. God knows you for who you are. God knows you for all of your imperfections and frailties. He knows you for all of that stuff. And he doesn't go running. He doesn't upgrade you. He doesn't say, you know what? I made the bad choice. This is not a healthy relationship. No, he knows you. So I think our response should be, since he knows you so well, be honest with him, be vulnerable with him. It always saddens me as a pastor, how many even of y'all, you're not honest with God, because you're afraid that he's this father in heaven who's always shaking his fist, that's constantly disappointed in you, so you don't share when you're struggling. You aren't real with God when you're doubting. Cause like, well, I don't want him to be mad at me. So I'm gonna, I'll keep a smile on my face and I'll pretend like everything's all right when everything is not all right. And God, God doesn't have that expectation of you. God wants you to be, now that doesn't mean we're not reverent. We don't, are disrespectful to God, but God wants us to be honest and real with him. Isn't it beautiful in the Psalms when the Psalmist is saying, where are you God? Why are you so silent? Why are you not answering me? Because he wants that kind of honesty from us. Because he wants a relationship. Remember, Abraham is a friend of God. He wants our friendship. He wants us to be intimate with him. And that can't happen without honesty. So friends, be honest with God, even in this moment. Lord, I am struggling right now. and I'm hiding it from you because I somehow think I can lie to you. Speak to him. You don't have to be alone. You don't have to wait till the night when you're in a room by yourself. Even right now, say, God, I want you to know me for who I am, because I want to know you for who you are. What's holding you back from that kind of transparency? And I think if anything's holding you back, it's your circumstances. It's those storms, it's those struggles in life where you're not seeing God in the midst and you feel alone and you feel like, where is he in this? It reminds me of this story that I heard a preacher share many years ago. There's an ocean freighter, it's out on the sea and they encountered a horribly dangerous storm. Kind of popped up out of nowhere, they weren't ready for it. Even seasoned sailors on the ship were terrified by the weather. Along with the crew, one of the captain's younger sons had tagged along for this ship. So as they're sitting and they're waiting and they're trying to ride through the storm and they're frightened, the son comes out of his cabin and you know, he's moving around as this ship is being torn apart basically because of this storm. And he comes out to this frightened crew. And he asked the crew, where's my dad? And they say, he's at the helm, he's trying to get us through this. And this little boy looks at them and says, okay, thanks. And he walks around, goes back in his room, and he goes and lays down and goes back to sleep. And you can imagine this, these sailors who are seasoned at this, who are afraid to death they're gonna die, and this little boy is able to go back to sleep. And you know why he was able to go back to sleep? Because he knew he was at the helm. He knew that his dad was guiding the ship and he had so much confidence, like a child, of his dad that he didn't need to worry. He's like, I'll go back to sleep because my dad's gonna get us through this. He gets us through in the past, he always will. Friends, whatever storm, whatever choppy waters, whatever trial, whatever relationship problem, whatever financial difficulty, whatever health crisis, that you are currently going through. Do you understand that? Who's at the helm? Our God is. He hasn't abandoned us. He's there and that's good news, friends. If you're overwhelmed today with the storms, with the times of waiting, doubt and unbelief, He is at the helm. He's guiding you through the storm. He is good. He is the almighty one. He will get you to your destination. And friends, here's the best part. This is not too good to be true, but it's certainly true. Find comfort and rest today. Lay down this evening knowing that your God is at the helm. Let's pray. Father, we come before you right now and we thank you for just the encouragement that you are in your word. that Lord, even as we look at Sarah, we're not quick to judge her because most of us here are Sarah. 24 years of waiting and difficulties and trials and afflictions and suffering, and we are wondering, where are you in the midst of all of it? But Lord, it is so good to know that even when we don't see you at work, you are at work. So we pray, God, that you would give us greater and greater faith, that we would trust in you, that we would rest in you, God, and that we would believe that you indeed are at the helm. May even right now as we close our time of worship through song, that we would sing this not just by singing a song, but that we would sing from the overflow of our heart, from the depths, God, as we cry out in our trust of you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.