“Phobia” Mark 6:43-52 Rev. Min J. Chung (Large Group, June 14th, 2019)

Mark 6:43-52 43And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water 45Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Introduction "Phobia" is defined by the world as an extreme or irrational fear of a particular object or situation. It’s a psychological disorder, an extremely irrational fear of something, or exaggerated, usually inexplicable and illogical. But "phobia" is actually the Greek word for fear. In this passage, when the word "fear" is used, it’s the noun form of phobia. So fear is really the lighter form of what we consider as phobia in this world. But the essence is the same.

Fear affects us because sometimes it’s a very helpful thing that keeps us from harm. We should fear some things like: “Don’t run into wall.” "Be careful when you drive.” “Don’t jump from high places." “Don’t touch the fire.” Some forms of fear are good for us. It helps us guard ourselves. But many times it’s an inner voice and barrier that keeps us stuck from being able to progress in life. It keeps us from living maximally. Someone once said that too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem to be more afraid of life than death. There is some validity to that. People are afraid to live; they are afraid to take chance and do things. Another person said, “Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to do new things. The saddest summary of life contains three descriptions – could have, might have, and should have." Fear will keep us from doing the things that we should be doing.

Every time we give a message like this, people can misapply it and for the sake of overcoming fear do dumb things. That’s not what this message means. It means making sure fear is not stopping you from doing the right things to maximally live for the kingdom of God. Another person said, “Anything I’ve ever done that ultimately was worthwhile initially scared me to death.” Sometimes, there’s just fear in the beginning and we need to go through these things. So fear means either forget everything and run or face everything and rise. I pray that as long as there’s the right things to do, we’ll face everything and rise and not run from those things. As we look into this passage, especially as we are starting a new segment of the year during the summer, I believe it will be helpful for us so that we’ll not maintain status quo in our fear, but progress in our spiritual life and in our callings. Even in the small things in our lives, keep growing, progressing, and living maximally for the kingdom of God so that fear will not contain us into mediocrity and mundane faithfulness. Here are four lessons about fear so that we can live maximally for the Lord this summer as well as for life.

I. We need to be ready to face different fear factors in life We need to be ready to face different fear factors in life because situations will come in our lives.

A. Fear factors Mark 6:50 – 50for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

Mark 4:37 – 37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.

Different things will cause us to fear. For some people, it’s elevators, perhaps because of a bad experience. For others, it's airplanes, heights, people, or finals. For some, finals are okay but they fear writing papers. What do you fear? Sometimes, it’s someone bigger than you. Sometimes, it's things that you can't do. Sometimes, it’s the fear of being rejected. For some of you it’s the future: next year, grad school, job, marriage. For others, it’s ghosts. Even in this passage, the disciples were afraid of ghosts. They thought Jesus was actually a ghost. Where did this situation of fear start?

B. Fear Genesis Genesis 3:16-17 – 16To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” 17And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

We see that in the book of Genesis, we began to fear because in the beginning, hardships and difficulties started to come. In Genesis 3:16, after Adam and Eve sinned it says: 16To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” God talks about how relational hardships, difficulties and pain will come so our fears are related to these kinds of difficulties. We don’t want to face these things. There is relational pain but also situational circumstances of pain as a consequence of Genesis 3:17: 17And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground". Somehow, man was to be in dominion of the world but when they rebelled against God, the world started to be in rebellion against mankind so that we would learn what we have done to God and come to repentance. “Cursed is the ground because of you.” - the ground was affected. “In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;"

We can also see the different kinds of fears because of the pain and hardships that come in Mark 6. We can compare Mark 4 and Mark 6, two kinds of fearful water situations in the disciples' lives. In Mark 4, the disciples were afraid of the storm. Mark 4:37 says, “Great storm arose and the waves were breaking into the boat." That’s what they were afraid of. But in Mark 6, the disciples were afraid of Jesus because they thought he was a personal spiritual being, or a ghost. They were afraid of two things. First, a personal being - relational fear/relational pain. And second, situational natural disasters - situational circumstances that were not in their control. The pain and suffering that we fear started in Genesis 3. These factors are a result of sin. We are afraid of people, sinful beings, or a sin-affected world. But God’s grace can come as consequences to sin. Sometimes in a sinful world, people will be afraid of others or afraid of circumstances. But God’s grace is there so that we will not trust in those things but trust in God alone.

C. Fear and worry We need to compare fear and worry because they're very similar. I concluded two things when I compared the two. One, fear is more focused on threats or dangers than worry is. Worry is a state of anxiety, uncertainty over actual potential problems. But fear is an unpleasant or strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger. Another difference is this: fear is more subject/object-oriented. Worry surrounds ultimately what we fear. For example, let’s say you are worried about whether or not the door is locked. Some OCD people constantly worry if their door is locked and they check it about 20 times. But you don’t really fear whether the door is locked or not. It might be semantics which is why it’s difficult to define both and compare the two. But in general, you don’t fear whether the door is locked or not. You worry about it because you fear what can happen if the door is not locked – your family may be harmed.

They are related, but fear is greater in a sense that you are worried about a certain danger to something that is important to you and your worry surrounds that. One author compared it like this: “Worry is a junk food for your fears. Worry is full of empty calories. Fear swells from unproductive negative thinking like worrying.” In other words, out of fear you worry and worry strengthens your fear. If you trace your worries into the deep part of yourself, I believe there is something you fear.

All kinds of phobia are related to worry and fear. Panic attacks is the physical effect related to what we worry and fear. I counsel people with OCD symptoms. They worry and fear so they constantly do things in order to be in control of these things. Many of these psychologically- related labor disorders are related to your heart. So, we need to examine our hearts. One person said, “We are more often frightened than hurt. We suffer more from imagination than reality.” What percentage of what we worry about and fear actually happens in our lives? We need to have an imagination according to good things. God says in Ephesians 3, “He can do more than we can ask or imagine”. We need to imagine how great and awesome God is. Yet, we imagine what will cause us harm. Often, we have these train of thoughts about our worries and fears.

I was thinking about what’s worse: being frightened or being hurt? It’s debatable, but I was thinking about it from this one angle: if you’re hurt, at least you’ve learned. We learn less if we haven’t even tried. So much of my growth in my spiritual life has been from pain. Pain is a terrible friend; I don’t want him around. But he’s also a wonderful teacher. Pain still teaches you and helps you to grow. But if you don’t try because you fear, you’re not even in the vicinity of the things that will help you to grow. If we haven’t even tried and haven’t had the chance to get hurt, we’ll always protect ourselves from it.

Without getting hurt, you often remain as a child. Often, as you get hurt, you can learn to be wiser, if it’s the right thing. I’m not saying do anything to get hurt but in doing the right things, don’t fear pain. Even through your failures you can grow if you’re doing the right thing. One person said, “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” Plato said, “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark, but the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” When you’re afraid of doing something that is right, you are afraid of the light. We need to be afraid of certain things, but if you continue to do that, you’ll remain as a child. We’ve got to grow so that we can do the right things and not fear if we’re doing the right thing.

II. We can see what we are made of through our fears Mark 6:52 – 52for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Sandwiched between Jesus feeding the 5,000 is this story. It seems like Jesus is helping the disciples and letting them go through the situation in the water because their hearts were hard. Look at the previous verse about giving bread.

Mark 6:43-44 – 43And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Twelve baskets meant each disciple had seen the leftovers and saw the miraculous power of Jesus Christ. It was like each basket full was left for the disciples for them to get fed, not only physically but spiritually. Jesus is the bread of life. Mark 6:44: 44And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. It seems like this passage is saying that because the hearts of the disciples were still hard, God led them through these things. If you do not understand the meaning of the bread, which Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” God will lead us through the storm to help us to understand. So, get it when He gives you bread and speaks to you. Otherwise, He’ll lead you through circumstances, hardships, and difficulties to teach you. If giving of the bread does not lead you to grow in your faith, He will take away the safety in your life to give you Himself.

One thing for sure is that God will never leave you nor forsake you. He will never take away Himself from you. In fact, everything He does is to give Himself to you. When it says, “their hearts were hardened,” the hearts of the disciples were full of themselves. Because of this, their hearts could not take the bread of life that helps them to grow. He takes away from their hearts to fill them with Himself.

What specific things were in their hearts? We can see a few things. Jesus is going to talk about himself and give himself through his revelation so we know that the hearts of the disciples were full of ignorance - misunderstanding about Jesus and a lack of understanding about Jesus. They probably had thoughts about worldly things such as how to catch fish. These things are not useless but they already had knowledge of these things while they had a lack of knowledge about Jesus. They didn’t just have ignorance but doubt as well. Jesus was walking on water and they were saying, “He’s a ghost.” They had a lack of understanding of Jesus and a lack of faith.

In Mark 4 and Mark 6, the disciples’ problems were so much greater than the problem solver Himself. Sometimes, our problem is so much bigger than God. When people talk about their problems, I ask, “Are you a Christian? Do you believe in God? In your story, where is God?” Do you ever think about the fact that He is with you? He may be training you, guiding you, protecting you. He is with you.

In the midst of ignorance and doubt in our hearts, there is love for ourselves. We don’t want pain but we want pleasure. That’s what our heart wants – Galatians 5. In the midst of fear, we need to see what our heart want. What are you feeling? Maybe it’s all kinds of feelings whether towards other people, towards circumstances, or towards God. When you face problems, everything is the source to blame. It’s about everyone else’s problem. It’s God’s problem if something’s not giving you what you want. Listen to what your fear says. Listen to what your fear thinks and listen to what your fear chooses.

A. Fear of not getting what you want – pleasure We always want what we want in our sin nature. In our spirit nature, we always want what God wants. We want Him, we want Christ. But in the midst of our fear when our sinful nature is operating, we want pleasure. We’re seeking for the highest pleasure at one moment.

B. Fear of getting what you do not want – pain We don’t want displeasure, suffering, hardships, or difficulties. We always want maximum pleasure and minimum pain. That’s what we’re made of and you need to be able to see that. First and foremost, it’s never about other things, other situations, or other people. It’s about my heart. You have to learn how to examine your heart if you want to grow, become productive, and help other people. If you want to grow in your spiritual life, it’s always about your heart. Because when we want pleasure, we don’t want pain.

When you don’t want pain and you see something that reminds you of a past pain, it cripples you. Rather than making the right choice, you choose what gives you minimal pain. The right choice is choosing to step out in faith to love and serve even though it’s going to hurt.

You could be reminded of physical symptoms. That kind of pain is a warning sign so it could be a good pain. When your body is bleeding, it’s a sign that there’s something wrong with your body. Whenever we worry or fear, it could be a warning sign that maybe you should stop and not do certain things. But often when it is related to our sinful nature, you have to do the right thing. Sometimes, doing the right thing is listening to fear and overcoming fear. We need to always analyze what is the right thing to do biblically at that time with wisdom.

But sometimes, the memory of a past pain can cripple us. In this Peanuts comic strip, Lucy explains to Charlie Brown at the end of the game why she had lost sight of the baseball and failed to make the catch. She says, “Sorry I missed the early fly ball manager, I thought I had it but suddenly I remembered all the others I had missed. And the past got in my eyes.” How often does your past get in your eyes? How often does the memory of the pain get into your eyes and you choose the wrong thing and make mistakes in your life?

The Word of God has to be in your eyes. The promises of God have to be in your eyes. And the availability of God’s grace, power, strength, and forgiveness have to be in your eyes more than your fear of failure. This fear of failure distracts us from focusing on the right things. It distracts us from focusing on our calling, our motive, and our power to do the right thing. Our calling is what we ought to do, our motive is who we should live for, and our power is whom we need to trust for our strength.

Soren Kierkegaard said this: “To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” When you keep living in your failures, you are not becoming yourself; you are not living out who God has made you to be. Robert Frost said, “The best way out is always through.” If it’s the right thing, go at it. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the Ark and professionals built the Titanic. God blesses you and sometimes it might be a new thing you’re not even good at it, but God’s going to use it to save lives and expand His kingdom. Henry Ford said, “One of the greatest discoveries that man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.” We call that breakthrough. You have to learn to experience breakthrough moments, especially spiritual breakthrough moments. And that’s when you’ll experience His amazing power and grace in your life.

III. We can grow to be courageous in the midst of our fears Two things there – What Jesus is doing in our fears and what we should do in our fears. Sometimes we ask, “God, what are you doing?” Here, there’s a vivid picture of this when the disciples are going through fears in the midst of waters and Jesus walks on water and comes back to them.

A. What is Jesus doing in our fears? 1. He leads us into our fears Mark 6:45 – 45Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.

Jesus himself makes the disciples get into the boat. God can lead us through situations. If the bread doesn’t work? Waters. If giving the bread doesn’t work? He takes away safety.

2. He prays for us in our fears Jesus doesn’t just leave us there; he prays for us.

Mark 6:46 – 46And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

At the right hand of God, he is interceding for us. He’s praying for us always.

3. He leaves us alone in our fears Mark 6:47 – 47And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.

That means Jesus was not with them. Though he’s with us in prayer and everything, sometimes he leaves us alone so that we can struggle in our fears and our faith muscle can grow.

4. He is watching over us in our fears Mark 6:48 – 48And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,

Even though they’re going through pain, he painfully abstains himself from helping. When a mom sees her child falling, it’s painful for her to not go to her child. But she waits so that through the child’s pain and her pain, the child can grow. Jesus came a considerable time later as it says in verse 48, “the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.” He’s watching over us in our fears.

5. He is waiting for His time in our fears Mark 6:48 – 48And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,

“fourth watch of the night…” He comes to help the disciples at the right time. Sometimes, he waits. He waits and he watches over us and then he comes at the right time.

6. He wants to fill our hearts in our fears Mark 6:52 – 52for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

He empties their heart of selfishness, lack of faith, and pride so that their hearts can be filled with Himself or with Jesus.

B. What should we do in our fears? (33:36) Mark 6:50 – 50for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

1. Take heart It’s a plural command; it’s given to all the believers in Jesus Christ. It’s also an imperative which means we have no choice but to be courageous. It means to be firm, to be resolute in the face of danger and adverse circumstances. This is what we ought to do in our lives.

Our sin nature may sometimes cause us to be in fear, but in our spirit’s nature we have to be courageous. We need to be courageous in doing the right thing. Often when we are able to deny our selfishness, it will always lead us to courage. Take heart! “Then how can I take heart?” The foundation is seeing this.

2. It is I This is really the phrase “I am.” It’s a term described in Exodus 3 - it’s the name of God in the Old Testament. So, Jesus is declaring that he is God. Jesus is declaring, “I am. I’ve been existing on my own ever since the beginning of time. I’m the creator. I’m the only creator.” God is the only one who was and is and is to come. Jesus Christ is declaring his deity in saying, “I am.” It’s a singular present indicative which means, “I am God who’s here now with you.” We can be courageous because Jesus Christ is with us. Jesus is all that we need.

Jesus is saying, “Oh, you’re afraid of the storm? I am the Lord of the storm. You’re afraid of this water? This storm is just a puddle of water to me. I am the one who created whatever you are in fear of. I am the one who made those beings. Whatever situations that you’re afraid of, I am in control of every single particle, molecule, cell in this universe. I am God.” He doesn’t give a sermon about how to roll better or how to psychologically overcome these things. He just says, “I am. You don’t need anything else. You don’t need any other sermon. I am. I am God.”

3. Don’t be afraid Being courageous isn’t seeing the problem and comparing God to the problem. First and foremost, see God who is enough and almighty. He’s the creator. He’s in control of everything. He created every being that we can possibly be afraid of. Think about Him and then put problems under that. See God first, then see the problem with the proper perspective.

It’s not being blind to your problems. Christianity is realistic and practical. It’s not blind faith. Christianity is faith based on the Word, based on the reality of who God is. Nelson Mandela said, “I learned that courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear.” We fear, but make sure we put that fear into proper perspective in light of who God is. Dale Carnegie was a little more practical. He says, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit at home and think about it; get out and get busy.” Do something as you serve the Lord. Crippling fear has turned into practical faithfulness.

I can never forget this part in Narnia when Aslan the lion, the Christ figure, speaks to the little girl Lucy. Lucy one day looks at Aslan and asks, “Are you bigger? You look you look bigger. Are you growing?” And Aslan says, “No, I’m not bigger, you are. And as you grow bigger, as you grow older, I will look bigger.” God is as big as you can imagine. He’s the omnipotent, mighty God. The reason why He’s not big enough to us is because we are little. We are small, young and immature. But as we mature and grow, we will see Him for who He is.

IV. We must be hungry for more in our fears We can grow courageous in the midst of our fear, but we can also be hungry for more grace and more of Christ in our fears. I want to emphasize this phrase in Mark 6:48: “He meant to pass by them.” If you forget about everything else, that’s okay but you’ve got to understand this before you walk out.

Mark 6:48 – 48And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,

If you carefully read this passage, you may think, “Why did Jesus need to pass by them? Is he testing them?” Possibly. But I think it’s a technical phrase from the Old Testament.

The last point was about how Jesus is all we need. This point is saying Jesus is all we should want. When Jesus said “It is I,” it’s the phrase “I am” from Exodus 3. This phrase, “He meant to pass by them” is from Exodus 33. Let’s examine Exodus 33. Moses had a personal relationship with God in such a way that he talked to God face to face. He had a personal, intimate relationship with God. In Exodus 33:17 it says, 17And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Does God know your name?

I remember talking to a missionary who was walking by the sea and praying. When I ask him what he was doing, he responded, “I’m making sure Jesus knows me.” When you see Him face to face, will He say like Matthew 7, “I don’t know you, who are you?” Or will He say, “I know you by name.” You need to have a personal heart to heart encounter with Jesus.

Exodus 33:18 says, 18Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” He had an intimate relationship with God, yet he was still hungry for more of God. The more you mature, the hungrier you’ll be for more of God. Our hearts are filled with desires; we are beings of addiction. The best addiction that we can have, if we are properly living out our Christian life, is an addiction to God. “Please show me more of Your glory. I want more of You.” Even though Moses was facing God every day, he said, “I want more of the essence of who You are. I want more of Your glory, beauty, and worth.” And look at what God says in Exodus 33:19. He’s going to say this here and He’s going to say it again a few verses later and in the next chapter. The author is making sure this is a technical term. It says, 19And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you.” Pass by. God’s making sure He’s pouring His name, His knowledge, His revelation onto Moses. God knows that Moses can only take this much at a time. It’ll take a whole eternity to take more of God. He’s pouring His goodness to pass before you. He’s revealing His language of revelation; language of pouring His love, His grace, Himself upon Moses. 19And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Job 9:8, 11 – 8who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea; 11Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him. God is the one who tramples the waves of the sea like what we see in the context of Mark 6 where Jesus walks on water. He’s revealing Himself through those things and Jesus is declaring, as He's trampling the waves of the sea, that He’s God himself and He’s revealing Himself to them.

Exodus 33:20-22 – 20But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

We cannot receive the revelation and live; we all die. But if we are standing on the rock, if we are placed on Jesus Christ, we can receive His revelation. Moses was standing on the rock. Apart from Jesus, we all die in God’s holiness and wrath. But when we are standing on the rock, Jesus Christ is our foundation and we can receive His grace. Exodus 33:22 says, “I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.” When we are on Christ, God covers us. He reveals Himself to us. How does he reveal Himself to us in our day? I never faced God face to face. That’s why in Exodus 34:1, He gives the ten commandments.

Exodus 34:1 – 1The LORD said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Application for us - He passes by us and He reveals Himself to us through His word. The proof of whether we have received more of God is this: Mark 6:50-51 – 50for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded.” They were in fear. But in the next verse, when Jesus passed by them, Jesus gave Himself to them.

When we receive more of Jesus, our fear will turn to astonishment. It will turn into worship. We will be mesmerized by His beauty and His worth. The most blessing thing to me in Exodus, in this whole message, is Exodus 33:19. It doesn’t say, “I will make my goodness pass by.” It says, “I will make all my goodness pass by you.” I think God wants our hearts to be so full of Him that it overflows. Filling every space, every corner of the cup of our hearts, being filled with Him. He’s just pouring all His goodness, making sure our hearts are full. And one day at a time as we grow, we’ll be a little more full of Him. But His heart always wants to give more. He’s always pouring His goodness upon us. And the more we grow, the more we’ll be filled with Him. And every day as we worship Him, He will look bigger. And our fear will turn into worship which will lead our lives into faithfulness.

Conclusion We’ll look at this one video clip and then we’ll finish. It’s just a praise song. It’s long but it’s worth it. It summarizes what we talked about how all of creation is worshipping the Lord. If all creation, everything in this universe, is worshipping the Lord, so will I. Let’s watch this and then we’ll go into prayer and worship.

[0:00-7:42] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdIOaAvvOp8

Hundred billion stars, hundred billion praises, hundred billion failures, and a hundred billion forgiveness. Hundred billion desires to chase after us. He will never leave one behind. That’s why we should never fear. He’s with us and may we receive that kind of love to use all our energy and love to chase after the people who do not know Christ this summer. Let’s pray.