UNTIL YOU REACH THE SURFACE (YENMIS QUINONEZ)

The speaker shares a personal story about almost drowning while snorkeling. They reflect on how sometimes in life, we feel like we're drowning, whether the waters are deep or not. They discuss the importance of not panicking and losing sight of God's help. They refer to the story of Peter walking on water in Matthew 14 as an example. Peter initially walks on water towards Jesus but starts sinking when he focuses on the storm. He cries out to God for help and Jesus saves him. The speaker emphasizes the need to keep our focus on God, even in difficult situations. almost every month, and I still, for the life of me, cannot swim. I can dougie paddle. I can float to a certain extent, but I cannot swim at all. So, I'm going to tell you a little story. Last year, my family and I, we went on vacation. We went to Puerto Rico. And I really wanted to see, like the water was super clear. I haven't seen water like that since Cuba. And I really wanted to see the fish. And in the Airbnb where we were staying, they had snorkeling gear. So, I was like, let me grab like, you know, a careta and all that stuff, and let me go see the fish. But I knew I couldn't swim. So, I stayed en la orilla. I was not trying to go in there. I knew I was going to drown. It was not going to be nice. So, me quedé en la orilla. But when I went underwater, I completely forgot that the tube for snorkeling has to stay above the water. So, I was like, oh, there's a really nice seashell. And I went to grab it, but it was a little too deep. And when I went down, obviously water got into the snorkeling gear, and I started like choking underwater. And I had to like take it off. And when I tried to stand up, I realized I wasn't completely submerged, but my nose and my mouth were. So, I had to like, kind of like, paddle my way to where I could stand so I wouldn't drown. I was like, was that seashell really worth it? I did get it. I have it at home. But was it really worth it almost drowning? And when I was thinking about this story, very embarrassing, by the way, never bring it up, please. I will cry. Um, God was putting in my soul this theme of sometimes we're in deep waters, or even the waters are not deep enough where we could drown. But maybe the water is at our mouth or our nose, and we think that we're going to die. We start panicking, and that just makes it worse, and doesn't let him be able to help us out. Now, those waters look different for each person. It can be a problem. It can be school. It can be work. It can be a million and one things. It can even be as simple as you feel a certain way. But those waters look different from each person, but the reaction sometimes is the same for everyone. We start panicking because we cannot breathe, because we feel like that is the end, like we won't be able to, you know, see the light or whatever. And we start panicking. And when we start panicking, sometimes we cannot hear or see God's help. And there where you are, if you would go with me to Matthew 14, we're going to read about a person who also started panicking. He started looking around. He took his eyes off of Jesus, and he started drowning. But luckily, God was there to reach his hand and save him. And before we start, the theme that, the titulo that God gave me for this speech is, Until You Reach the Surface. I'll explain later on why that is the title. But for now, let's just go to Matthew 14, 22. When you have it, just say amen. So, you know, we're on the same page. And let me give you a little bit of context. So before this event takes place, the disciples and Jesus, right before this, it was the miracle of the loaves and the fish. So, you know, the disciples had seen Jesus do a couple miracles. They had seen this great miracle where, you know, they had doubted that he was going to be able to feed all these people. And, you know, he proved them wrong. And so they had seen a couple of miracles. They had seen, to a certain extent, Jesus' power, but it was still not enough for them to truly trust him. So there we are. I have it in two versions. You guys can choose which one you want to read. I do have it in English and Spanish. I'm going to read it in Spanish first, and then there are some things in English that I might read as well. Okay. Jesus came to them walking on the sea. And the disciples, seeing him walk on the sea, were troubled, saying, A ghost! And they heard voices of fear. But then Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be strong, I am, do not be afraid. Then Peter answered them and said, Lord, if it is you, send me to go to you over the waters. And he said, Come. And coming down from the boat, Peter walked over the waters to go to Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid, and began to sink. He heard voices saying, Lord, save me. At that moment Jesus stretched out his hand and said to him, Man of little faith, why do you doubt? And when they went up to the boat, the wind subsided. Then those who were on the boat came and worshiped him, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God. So we have Peter, right? Who, he thought his faith was strong enough to sustain him above the water. And to a certain extent it was. So let's start a little bit, let's backtrack a little bit. So they had just seen Jesus do these incredible miracles. And Jesus says, Hey, you guys go on ahead. I'll reach you guys eventually. But I'm going to go do something. And he went and he prayed. And they got on the boat and they started heading towards their next city. But it was, it says that la Palabra dice que estaba en la Cuarta Vigilia. And when I was investigating what the Cuartas Vigilias were in the first place, it was a Roman way of telling time, especially at night. The Cuarta Vigilia is estimated to be between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. So it says, some other version says that it was at exactly 3 a.m. Some versions say, just say that it was dark. So we know it took place sometime between 3 and 6 a.m. Now, most people are sleeping at that time. Most people are starting to get tired at that time because back then, you know, days were long, people would walk long distances. So people were usually tired by this time. And some versions, because this story is reflected in Matthew, Mark, and John. Now, Mark and John have some different details that I will get into a little bit later. But let's just focus on Matthew for now. So it says that they were in the middle of the lake, basically. And there were strong winds that were contrary to them. So when the wind was hitting them, it was kind of pushing them back. So if they didn't row strong enough, the wind was going to set them behind. So they were rowing, and Mark says that, so they were tired at this point. They had been, I don't know how long they had been rowing for, but it was probably a couple hours since the weather was so bad. So at this point in their trip, they were tired. They were exhausted from rowing, from, you know, fighting this weather that they could not control. They were done, as we say, right? And they, out of nowhere, they see this figure above the water. Now, I would like to say that we will immediately recognize that it was Jesus, but we know we would have had the same reaction. It was just a body standing in the middle of this lake, and obviously they feared. They were scared. They said, there's no way this is a human being, in human flesh, walking on water because, logically, that is impossible. That is impossible. Yes, they had seen Jesus do a million other things. They had seen him turn water into wine. They had seen him feed all these people, but they still didn't know him to the point where they, you know, knew what he was going to do next. And they started fearing. They said, this is a ghost. There's no way this is a person, and they started, like, panicking. They started screaming. They said, like, they thought they were going to die, I can imagine, because if you see a ghost, it's probably nothing good. So, I can imagine they were exhausted. They were tired. They've been rowing for hours. At this point, they might have thought that, you know, that was the end for them, and they see this ghost. First thing that comes to mind is, you know what, I'm not making it out of this. So, they started screaming, but it says that Jesus immediately told them, do not fear, it is me. So, God knew what was in their heart, what was in their mind. He knew that these men were unsettled. They were not okay. So, he calls out to them, and he says, it's me, do not fear. And it says that Peter wanted to test his faith. He said, if it's truly you, call me to you. Let me walk on the water. Now, it is humanly impossible, but it could have been that it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, where he was like, you know what, I'm just gonna jump out. If he's doing it, I'm gonna do it, too. You have the power to sustain me over the water. I believe it. Let me jump out. Or, who knows what he was thinking, right? But he asked him this faith, and he stepped out of the boat into the water. Now, everything is going well for a little bit. He's walking above the water, you know, he's heading towards Jesus, but eventually, I'm guessing he starts feeling the wind on his neck, and then he looks up, and he's like looking at Jesus. He's walking towards Jesus, but then he starts looking around, and he starts noticing the storm that was going on before Jesus was walking on water. He started noticing that, you know, the waters were, they were, there was waves, there was winds, very strong winds, winds strong enough to knock down a boat. Imagine a person just standing on water, and he starts seeing these things, and he takes his eyes off of Jesus, and he starts immediately sinking. The Bible says he started immediately sinking. So, this meant he's sinking, and I'm guessing that's where the panic really set in. He said, you know what? I don't think I can swim my way out of this one, no matter how strong the swimmer he was, because Peter, he was a pescador, like he, I can imagine he knew how to swim. He had to for his job, but he realized swimming was not going to get him anywhere in this situation, because the weather was not in his favor, and he starts shouting. He starts screaming out. Yeah, he started screaming out to God, Lord, save me. So, if he was able to scream out, it's because his water, like his mouth hadn't gone underwater yet. He knew he was sinking. He could feel it, but he hadn't got to the point where, you know, the water was above his head, where he couldn't yell out, because it says that he screamed out, Lord, save me. So, he noticed, you can say that Peter noticed in time what was going to happen if he didn't ask for God's help, and that is where God reaches out to him and pulls him out of the water, and the first thing that Jesus asked him, and the first thing that Jesus asked him, or said to him, is you have so little faith. Yes, he had the faith to step out of the boat. He had the faith to walk on water, but his faith was not in Jesus. It was maybe in himself. It was maybe in feeling that Jesus was doing it, and he thought he could do it as well, but his faith in Christ was little, and the fact that if God could make him walk on water, he was going to be able to sustain them, despite the weather that was going on, and then he says, and this is what caught my attention in the version that I was reading it, and I'll see in English, he says, why did you doubt me? Some versions says, why did you doubt, but this version says, why did you doubt me? So, he didn't doubt the wind. He didn't doubt the waters. He doubted Christ. Now, whether it was intentionally or not, only them to know, but he doubted Christ in that moment that he started seeing what was going on around him, and he took his eyes off of Christ. Now, as I was saying before, Mark and John give us a little bit more details to kind of fill in the story a little bit. Mark 48. Now, you don't have to, 648, you don't have to search it if you don't want to. I'll just read it. So, he was there to help them out, actually. He was there because, you know, he said, I will catch up to you. Now, in their minds, I'm guessing they thought that he was going to meet them at the city. They didn't expect him to meet them at 4 a.m., 3 a.m., in the middle of the water, but it does say that they were tired. They were, they were and later on, in March 52, it talks about, actually, we'll come back to this. John 621. So, this is after, you know, they get back into the boat, and it says, John says that as soon as they got in, you know, they made it quickly to their destination. So, these men, and I was searching some details about where they were, the lake they were at, and some details are that the lake, the width of the lake was about seven miles, roughly, and they were, at this time that the story takes place, they were about four miles in. So, they have, they had, you could say, about halfway to go, and it had taken them, presumably, about three to two hours to get to the point where they were at this, at the point of the story, because they had been rowing for a little bit into the night. So, let's say, for measurement, that they had, it had taken them about two to three hours to get to the point where they were. So, it had taken them about two hours to get four miles into the lake. When Jesus got in the boat, it says that they were able to reach their destination immediately. So, they still had halfway to go, but they got there so much faster because Jesus was there with them. He had quieted, after they got on the boat, it says, and the storm was gone, and then they were able to make it to their destination, but it says that they were able to make it a lot quicker. So, putting that into perspective, how many times have we done the same? Now, that brings me into what Marcos says, you can search it if you want to. If not, it's fine. I'll just read it. It says, So, it says that the reason, so Jesus gets in the boat, and they're like, oh my God, you're truly the Son of God. Like, you're truly the man, and it says that, Marcos says that they had, this was their reaction, because they hadn't yet understood the miracle that had taken place before they got on the boat. They hadn't understood Los Panas y Los Peces. They hadn't understood how Christ had done all that, and their hearts were still tough. Their hearts were still like rocks. So, we can say that this doubt that these men experienced, because it's not just Peter, we talk about Peter because he's the one who stepped out into the water and sunk, but what about the other 11 men that stayed in the boat and didn't even have the faith to step out, who might have told Peter, hey, you don't want to do that. You're going to sink. There was, Peter stepped out, and he sunk, but God rescued him, but what about those other 11 men that didn't even try? They didn't even step out. They didn't even believe at first that it was Jesus. They had to be convinced that it was Him. What about those 11? So, we can say that this doubt started beforehand. This doubt didn't start at the boat. It didn't start in the middle of the storm. This doubt came when Jesus was still doing the loaf and fish miracle. They didn't understand it. They didn't comprehend how He was able to do that, even though they knew He was the Son of God. They didn't understand His power. They didn't understand the control He had. So, this doubt was just manifested in the storm, but it was already in their hearts. It was already in their minds before they even got on that boat, before the weather got bad, before Peter started sinking. This doubt was already there. It's just that it came to life when the problem started happening. So, I was thinking about this, and I was identifying myself, and many times where I have been the same, and it starts always the same. It said, like I told you before, some versions say that it was just dark, and it was. It was 3 a.m. It was 4 a.m. It was cloudy. They could not see anything. So, it starts with darkness, and I don't mean the night precisely, but it all starts in a dark place. It starts in a dark time in our life where we don't know what is going on. We don't know where we're heading to. We don't know if we're heading in the right place or not, because I imagine in the middle of the lake, and it was cloudy. It was stormy. They didn't know where they were going. They were just rowing to row, but trying to reach land, but they didn't actually know where they were going. So, it started in the darkness, and they have been rowing for hours. So, then came the tiredness. They started to get tired, and I'm guessing sleepy as well. They started, you know, their body started failing them. So, it starts with the darkness, then comes being tired, then that doubt starts manifesting itself. It might have been in the heart before, but it was in these dark times that it started showing itself, because sometimes we're really good at concealing doubt. Sometimes we are really good at portraying that we believe, but then when the time comes where our faith is tested, just how Peter's was, that's when we start, the doubt starts coming out, and then it starts becoming impossible to hide. It starts becoming impossible to deny, and we have to come to the conclusion that in fact we are afraid, and that brings me into the next point. Then the fear sets in. Then the panic starts. That is when we start realizing, you know, I am drowning like Peter. I am drowning. I don't in fact know what I am doing. I don't know where I'm heading. I don't think I can make it out of this. The fear starts setting in, and that is where we start doubting even more. That is where we start panicking, and you know, God is there to stretch out his hand, and God is there to tell us, hey, I'm here. It's okay. Just stretch out your hand. All you got to do is reach out. I'll grab you. I'll pull you out of the water, but we start panicking, and then when we start panicking, we're not able to grab onto that help. That's where we start drowning, and I was researching a little bit about, you know, how they rescue, like the rescuing procedure for when someone is drowning, and I came across this term called the death grip. That was a term used a couple years ago. They eventually figured out that it was not as effective as it should have been, where when someone is drowning, and they start panicking, and the rescuers, they come to help them, but because they're panicking, they grab onto the rescuer too tightly, putting both the person who's drowning and the rescuer in jeopardy. It puts them in danger because when you're holding on to someone too tightly, like I imagine like these people, like sometimes they grab onto the neck of the rescuers, and the rescuers cannot breathe, and it puts them both in danger because now like you're drowning, but you're the person who came to rescue you is also drowning. You're both gonna die. So what the solution they came up with a couple years ago was that the rescuer, when they saw that a person was panicking too much to the point where it was hindering in the way of them trying to offer them help, they would punch their jaw and knock them out. They would they would basically like make them just go night-night so that they can get them out of the water safely, and the person can get to safety as well because while they're grabbing onto their neck, they run the risk of both drowning, and then the third rescuer comes in, you know, the chain just keeps going on, everyone's panicking, nothing gets done. So the solution they came up with was basically knocking the person out so that they're able to help them more effectively because they're calm. And I was thinking how many times are we like that as well, where we start panicking and God is offering his help, but we're too busy panicking and just looking around and trying to figure out how not to drown to figure out that there is someone there to help us to do exactly not that, to not drown. But we're so focused on not drowning, quote-unquote, that we're just hindering in the way of the person who is trying to help us not drown. And in this case, it's God. God is often offering a solution to our problem when we feel like we're drowning, but we start looking around, we start seeing that nothing is happening, we start seeing that, you know, we're just, we're drowning, too many things are happening at once. Doubt comes in, fear comes in, and then we're looking at all these things and we fail to see that God is in the situation, and we sometimes feel like he is not there. We sometimes stop hearing his voice because we're no longer focusing on him, we're focusing on what is going on. We start seeing, you know, his grace every day. We start, we even stop enjoying life. We lose our joy, we lose our peace, and at the end of the day, we're drowning over things that God has placed the solution there, which is him. And he's just trying to step in and help us, but we're hindering in the way of him doing so. Now, I was looking into other people that might have experienced the same thing. Now, Peter, he was drowning literally, but there was another man who felt like he was drowning spiritually. Like, there was so many things going on in his life that he had to call out to God. Now, like Peter, this man noticed in time that this was going on in his life, so he called out to God in time. Now, there where you are, if you could go with me to Psalm 69, I would highly appreciate it. And it's up here as well, if you guys want to read it here, but please go to it on your Bible so you get practice. When you have it, just say amen, so we know, I know we're on the same page. Everyone got it? All right. Again, I'll read it in Spanish and then in English. And it says, And then, over there, let's jump to 14 and 15. Now, this is over there in English. And now, something that grabbed my attention was that it mentions, I can't find a foothold. The reason they stopped doing the death grip solution was because when the rescuer was punching the person, they didn't have a foothold to stand on, so it was harder to do. So, in the end, it kind of didn't help at all to fix the problem. So, now they have tried different techniques. They're still figuring it out, but usually they're somehow able to wrestle the person into being a little bit more calm and get them out of the water. But David, he might have not been drowning in actual water, but he was going through a very tough time during this period where this song was written. They were being persecuted, as he was, for a good amount of the songs. He was going through very tough situations where, you know, he had to flee his home. He had to basically be homeless. He lost everything he loved, and he was in these situations where he realized that the only thing he had was God. And sometimes God lets us go through these deep waters so that we come to the realization that when we don't have anything, where we don't have that foothold, the only thing that we have is Him. The only thing that is keeping us from drowning, that is keeping us from what David is describing, the waters up to our necks, is God and His Word and His presence. So, sometimes it is necessary for us to start swallowing a little bit of water, like I did, to realize that we're drowning, to realize that there are things that are out of our control, and we need someone to help us out. But David also, it says that he called out to God. This was his prayer. He was praying, Hey God, I truly need your help there. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm drowning in these waters. Please help me not drown, was basically his prayer. And eventually God answered his prayer, and as in a couple of Psalms before, in Psalms 18, if you want to go there in your Bibles, God actually answers his prayer. Now, the Psalms might be a little bit out of order, but it's all done with a purpose, God's purpose. But let's go to Psalms 18, verses 4 through 6. And here's the key. David gives us here the key solution to our drowning issue. It doesn't matter if you can swim or not. He gives us the solution to avoid being in that situation where we might not make it because we're drowning. And David says, the ropes of death entangle me. Flesh of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped his rope around me. Death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress, I cried out to the Lord. Yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary. My cry to him reached his ear. So he gives us a solution. And I have it in Spanish as well, but we all get the point. He says, all these things were going on in my life. Death was entangling me. So he was dealing, was being persecuted. People were actually trying to kill him. And destruction was all around him. It says that it swept him. But in his distress, he says, I cried out to the Lord. Yes, I prayed to my God and he heard me. That is where when we start reaching out to God, when we reach out our hand and we're like up to our neck in water, up to our mouth, up to our nose, maybe we're completely submerged at this point, but we reach out our hand and we say, you know what, God, I cannot deal with this. This is too much for me. I cannot swim in this water. I need you to pull me out. And we do so in prayer because it says, I prayed to the Lord. So he was seeking God. Yes, this, all these things were going on in his life, but he cried out to the Lord. He prayed to God and God answered him. It says that he heard him from his sanctuary and he answered him and pulled him out of those waters. So David gives us a solution to this problem. You're drowning? Easy. Just reach out your hand, cry out to God and tell him, you know what? I cannot swim in these waters. I don't know how to swim. I, this is too much for me. I need you to pull me out of this and he will hear you. Says he heard me from my, from his sanctuary. So God, something about David's prayer caught God's attention where he, he was sitting in his throne. He was like, wait a minute. My servant is calling out to me. He heard him from his sanctuary. He caught God's attention to the point where God leaned over and saw, oh, he's going through this. Let me help him out. It says that his cry reached his ears. So that is what God is extending to us. If we if we take this step of reaching out to him, he promised to hear us. He promised to listen. He promised to see what we're going through and help us out of those waters. And then it does, uh, later on, on the 16th, Psalm 18, 16, the same. It says he reached down from the heavens and rescued me. He drew me out of deep water. And in Spanish it says, so he heard his cry. He heard his plea and it says that he reached down from heaven and threw him and threw him out of those deep waters. So his rescue came, that rescuer came to him and he didn't struggle. He didn't try, you know, panic and grow on to him and grab his neck. He knew he was in deep trouble and he needed God's help. So it says that God reached down from heaven and pulled him out. He didn't resist it. He just let God pull him out of that because he knew he couldn't do it himself. Now, I promised you in the beginning that I was going to explain to you why until you reach the surface. And I was asking God this because God speaks to me, at least the way he does with me, is that he'll give me the theme. He'll give me the title. And then slowly through my everyday life, he'll start giving me little details and it's like a puzzle and we put it all together and that's how he speaks to me. So he first gave me the title and then he started giving me the details and I'm like, you know, like the title doesn't kind of match the preaching. And what God put in my heart is that he doesn't need you to be fully out of water. He doesn't need you to have it all figured out. He doesn't need you to, you know, be breathing perfectly outside of the water, just your head outside. He just needs you to reach the surface. He just needs you to stretch out your hand and let the fingertips just touch the edge of the water because his hand is there. His hand is there to grab on and pull you out. But we have to do a little bit, a little bit of swimming, a little bit of paddling to get to the point where he can just grab us and pull us out. If Peter had given up, he saw himself sinking and he wouldn't have said anything. He would have just let himself drown. He would have just given up. Maybe he would have just drowned, but he cried out. He asked God for help and I can imagine in his desperate attempt to live, he started swimming a little bit. He started paddling a little bit just to be able to reach God's hand. That's why we just need to reach the surface. The surface is the outermost layer of something, in this case, water. We just need to touch our fingertips with it. He just needs us to reach out our hands and just paddle a little bit, put a little bit of effort in to be able to grab onto him. No one knows your struggles more than God. No one knows how hard it is to swim when things are going against you, when those winds are strong. No one knows it better than God, but we do need to put a little bit of effort to be able to grab onto him because he will not let us go. He never lets us go, but we sometimes are the ones who let him go. Sometimes we're the ones who, he has his hand, he already has it by the hand, but we're like, you know what, this is too much, and we just let go, and that is where we start drowning again. So he just needs us to stretch out our hands and just reach barely above the surface, just touch the edge of the water so that he can grab onto us and pull us out of those deep waters like David was saying. And to start wrapping it up, I want you to go with me to Psalm, uh, I'm sorry, Isaiah 43.2. And this is a very popular verse, and a lot of us know it, a lot of us have said it at some point, at some point, but there is a very important fact and detail that I fail to miss, the millions of times I've read this verse during my tribulations, I fail to miss one important detail, and where you have it, it says, when you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up. The flames will not consume you. Now this is a promise that God gives us, but there is a very important detail there, and it's that first word, when. When you go through these deep waters, it doesn't say if you go through the deep waters, it doesn't say you might go through deep waters, it says when you go through deep waters. So the deep waters are inevitable in this path, is you cannot avoid it as much as you want to, we cannot avoid going through these trials, we cannot avoid going through these tribulations, we cannot avoid the problems because it is necessary for us to go through it. So instead of saying if you go through these situations, God says when you go through these situations, I will be with you. It says that the waters of the rivers of difficulty will not drown you, they will not drown you. It might seem like it, it might feel like it, but in those rivers of difficulties, all that it takes is for us to cry out to the Lord. At some point during my tribulations, I stopped asking God to take me out of them, and I started asking Him to give me the strength to go through them, because I realized we have to go through it. It's part of growing, it's part of growing in Him, it's part of our faith being tested, it's part of our faith growing, because yes, we can start out with that grain of mustard seed, but it has to grow eventually. We cannot keep the same faith forever because life happens, and everything that happens is an aumento. It gets, the situations get more difficult as we grow, we start experiencing different problems, and if we keep our faith small, if we're of little faith, eventually the problems are going to get too big, and we won't know what to do. Our faith will not be enough to sustain us if we keep it small. So it's not if you go through the deep waters, you will go through the deep waters. I'm sorry, I don't know if you didn't want to hear that. You will go through the deep waters, but it's a matter of who you go through those deep waters with. It's a matter of who you call out to when you feel like those waters are starting to get to your neck, or when you started, when you feel like getting to your mouth, or when you no longer can breathe, when you no longer can see. It's about what you do when you realize that you're drowning. And lastly, I want you to go to Matthew 11 with me. And these words, Jesus said it during one of his preachings, and it's something that we need to carry with us, because it's very hard to be like the disciples who were tired of rowing. They were tired of fighting these things, so they just stay still, maybe. So we have to remember that the only way to truly rest is in Christ. The only place where we're going to find salvation, where we're going to find that rest for our souls, is in Christ. So it says, then Jesus said, come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. So when those deep waters come, there's your solution. Come to him if you're weary, if you're carrying heavy burdens on you. It says, come to me, and I will give you rest. Not the word, not the world, not people, not friends, not relationships, not your parents, nothing. Nothing will give you rest. Trust me, I have tried it. Nothing will give you rest. Only Christ can give you rest during those deep waters when you're going through those tough circumstances. Only he can truly extend his hand to you and pull you out. This is just a reminder that he is there. You just need to reach out and touch the surface so that he can pull you out of those deep waters and he can be with you. And lastly, Diego, if you could please play the video. This is just a scene of Peter. Now I want you to pay close attention to what Peter says to him and what Jesus says back to him. Now these, some of these things are not specified in the Bible, but they mimic so much what we go through in our day-to-day life. And just apply it to whatever situation you're going through. Apply it to whatever deep waters you're in. This surprises you? Did you learn nothing from today? If it is you, command me to come to you on the water. I don't know. Are you out of your mind? If you are who you say you are, bid me to step out of this boat. Do you have the faith to walk on this water? Absolutely. You can do whatever you command. And if you command the water to hold me, I will walk on it. If I call you to me, you will step out in faith? Yes. Then why are you upset? Why are you chasing after Gentiles when your own people have problems right here? When your own person has problems? I've been right here in front of you, believing in you, but you're breaking up my limits. Then come to me, you weary and heavy lady. I will give you rest. Simon, no. Simon! Simon! Simon! Simon, where are you going? Do you still have faith? Faith hasn't been my problem. I gave up everything to follow you, but your healing showed up strangers. Why do you think I allow trials? I don't know. They prove the genuineness of your faith. They strengthen you. This is strengthening you. Aunt Edith, keep your eyes on me. So do you? I got you. So a lot of what is reflected on this video, of course, is for dramatic effect. A lot of it was not in the work, but I imagine it went somehow like that. Maybe Peter was not going through that exact problem, but he was definitely going through something. He told Jesus, look, I've been in front of you all this time. I have followed you. I have left everything for you, and yet you're doing all these things for complete strangers. You're doing these things for people who don't even know you, but I'm here with my problems. And Christ told him, look, you need to go through these things in order for it to strengthen you. And just keep that in mind. When you go through the deep waters, it's not for nothing. It's for a testimony. It is for your faith to be strengthened. It's for your life to to be aligned to God's will and for him to be able to do greater and more powerful things in your life. And lastly, I just want to tell you the end of my little story about drowning. When I saw that I was not really touching ground, my first instinct was to, you know, paddle my way to the orilla, but I was still not finding that ground, and I did start panicking a little. So what I did was I reached out to my dad. I reached out to my dad because he was a couple feet away from me. He might have not noticed that he might have not noticed that I was drowning, but he was a couple feet away from me, and he was on solid ground because my dad is taller than me. So when I started seeing, you know, these seashells might have cost me my life, I started grabbing onto him. I started, I did the little hand thing, you know, the one the toddlers do. I was like, grab me. And he took my hand, and he pulled me to where he knew I could stand on my feet. So that is what we need to do with God. We need to be like toddlers sometimes with him. Just grab me, grab me and pull me to a place of safety where you know I am on my two feet, where you have helped me, and where I know and you know that I will be okay. So that is the word that God gave me for you guys tonight. I really pray and hope that you make it come true in your life and that when those deep waters come, you don't ask God why or to take you out of them, but rather ask him to give you strength and faith to go through them with him. That's about it. There where you are, if you could stand up. And first,