[0:00] I love sharing good news. Luke chapter number 8 shares good news. If you'll turn back there with me today. The good news isn't that there won't be storms. There is a place where there will be no storms, and that's where we will spend all eternity.
[0:12] It is perfect at all times. But here on earth, the good news is not that there won't be storms, but the good news is that there's something that you will get to know about Jesus that would not have been available to you any other way.
[0:25] We've been going through Luke, and as we do, we see that Jesus is Lord time and time again. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He'll walk through a field with His disciples, and they will take grain, and others will say, you shouldn't do this, and they're going to recognize this is a man like any other man, that He is the Lord of the universe.
[0:43] And as they continue, and we learn more about Jesus and recognizing He is Lord, then there will be questions, and we got to a point where we're looking at the seed and the kind of heart that it goes into and would it be received, and the disciples all along the way are learning about Jesus and they're responding.
[1:00] But then on a boat, a pop quiz or a pop storm shows up, and what they really believe is going to become lived out inside of them, and they're going to learn some things about themselves.
[1:10] They will learn some things about Jesus through the midst of the storm, and it can cause you to be grateful for it because of what it reveals to you about yourself and what it reveals to you most importantly about Jesus.
[1:24] So verse 22, it says, And it came to pass on a certain day that He went into a ship with His disciples, and He said unto them, It was a certain day that they had been leading up to. It was a certain day because Jesus knew all that was in store for them.
[1:38] It was a certain day because He had certain things planned. And He said unto them, Let us go over onto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed, He fell asleep, and there came down a storm of wind on the lake.
[1:53] And so a storm came during the plan that Jesus had to go from one side of this lake to the other side of the lake. The storm came upon the lake. Why do storms happen?
[2:05] My boys and I like to watch storm chasers. We like to see people who do that for a living. I'd much rather watch it at home by the fireplace. I do not want to be doing that. But I'm glad that people do, and they learn about it, and see the machine get taken up into the, that gets the information from the tornado.
[2:21] But literally, why do storms happen? I went to Google to figure that out. Thunderstorms form when warm or moist air rises into cold air. The warm air becomes cooler, which causes moisture.
[2:34] Cold water vapor to form. Small water droplets, a process called condensation. If this happens with large amounts of air and moisture, a thunderstorm can form. Those of you that are homeschooling, you can have a credit for that, okay?
[2:47] I'll give a little lesson here today about why storms happen. That would be a very boring and a cold way to look at life. What was happening here was not cold air and warm air meeting together.
[2:59] What was happening was that creation was meeting its creator. It's something beautiful. This is just not some natural event. This is something that God had ordained that he was going to use.
[3:12] And so there in verse number 24, it says that it arose, and he rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and they were calm. That Jesus rebuked the wind like we would rebuke a child.
[3:26] He told it to change its actions. He told it to go back and behave the way that it is supposed to be acting. It's just incredible. The first time that Jesus came, he came to, as he is in this story, he came to redeem his people.
[3:40] He is on his way to a cross to redeem his people. But you know, the second time he comes, he comes to redeem this planet that we live on. Romans 8, 22. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
[3:54] I like how Philip says it. He says, The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sights of the sons of God coming into their own. That we lived in a world that's affected by sin.
[4:06] We live in a world that is not the way that it was created. We live in a world that has storms and it will always have storms. On a literal, physical level and also on an emotional, spiritual level, we live in a world of sin and fallenness that is going to have storms until he returns.
[4:27] And so the Lord never promised that we wouldn't see storms. As a matter of fact, he actually says the opposite, doesn't he? In John 16, 33. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
[4:38] In the world you shall have tribulation. In the world you will have the slow days of rain where it just comes down just a little bit. Then you'll have other days where the storm is just so strong.
[4:50] You don't think you can leave your home. You'll have many variations of tribulation. But even though we have a life that has storms in it, be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.
[5:02] I can rebuke the storm. Concerning the Sea of Galilee, this is where the storm... So the storm comes and it doesn't just come by natural reasons. Jesus ordained that this storm would come into their life because it serves a purpose.
[5:14] The Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater lake in the world. I had to read this a couple times. The sea is 682 feet below sea level. I'm like, how does that happen, right? But it's low here.
[5:25] It's in a bowl-shaped valley. And it says, this is the part I'd like to point out to you. It says, as a result, it is a perfectly situated lake to experience strong winds.
[5:35] That God created not only a storm, but he also created a lake that was perfectly situated to experience strong winds. How many of you would say, I feel like I have a life that is perfectly situated to experience strong wind?
[5:49] That God has created a scenario in my life where it is just perfect for a storm. That the winds that come into me are just so constant and they continue. Jesus knows what it's like to be in a storm.
[6:02] He has been there. To be weary of serving God, it's sinful. But to be wearied and worn out while doing the work of the Lord is no sin at all. Jesus was tired.
[6:14] Jesus went onto that boat. And in Hebrews 4, 15, for we have not a high approach which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin.
[6:24] Jesus has ridden through the storms of life. We do not have a Savior who does not know what it's like to be in a boat during a very terrible storm. Because he left the wonder of heaven and he came to earth.
[6:37] He lived a perfect life. And in living that perfect life, he got onto a boat with some disciples and he experienced the storm exactly like they did without fear and without sin, but he experienced it.
[6:50] And so we all face trials and we will face them often. So it said that the boat began to fill up with water and that's one problem. But what was the other problem? The heart of the disciples began to fill up with fear.
[7:02] And as the water was to come and they began to fill up the boat, they were experiencing something. But they also ought to know that they were experiencing something that Jesus would understand.
[7:12] The fact that Jesus needed the sleep should excite us just as much as the fact that he woke up and he rebuked the wind. He was tired from doing the ministry that he had been given to do, that he went in there and he slept because he came to earth and became fully man so that he could take our sin upon the cross and die for us.
[7:32] He came to earth and he felt the storm so that when he would have, we'd have an intercessor that understood what it's like. And so when you meet with somebody and you're going through a storm, and I've learned this through the years as people have said it to me, and they would say, hey, I know what this feels like.
[7:48] I've been there before. And I'll say, no, you haven't been there before. You didn't have the dad that I had and you weren't 18 years old. Or you've been in something similar. You were maybe in a hurricane for a storm and I'm in a hurricane for a storm.
[8:00] But you haven't been where I've been and I haven't been where you've been. And nobody in here can say, I've been where you've been. I know what you've filmed. But Jesus can. Jesus came to understand the feelings that we would have, the experience as he would in riding a boat in a storm.
[8:17] And so some storms in life are man-made. These are consequences. The one that Jonah would have experienced was a great wind into the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea in Jonah chapter number one, verse four.
[8:28] So we would know that about Jonah. That'd be quite literal that a storm came into his life from that. But you also have people like Nebuchadnezzar, who Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter number four, verse 29, it says, the king spake and said, it is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom, but by the might of my power for the honor of my majesty.
[8:53] And as soon as he said that, the dark clouds came in. As soon as he said that, verse 31, while the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a great voice, fell a voice from heaven saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee.
[9:08] And they shall drive thee from men and thy dwelling shall be with the beast of the field. And they shall make thee to eat grass as an ox and seven times shall pass over thee until thou know that the most high ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
[9:22] So he is going to go through a storm that same hour. He invited a storm into his life, the consequences of the decision he made. And what was the result of the storm that Nebuchadnezzar went through in Daniel 4, 37?
[9:34] Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol the honor of king of heaven, all whose works are truth and his ways judgment and whose and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
[9:47] See, King Nebuchadnezzar in the storm of life, he learned the truth of his limitations, but he also learned the truth of the limitless power of God. No matter what the reason is that the storm has come into your life, the purpose can still be the same, which is for you to better understand God.
[10:05] It's to better understand the power of Jesus and your limited abilities. Nebuchadnezzar invited a storm into his life, but just like the disciples that were on the boat that day where Jesus took them into a storm, he came to the same conclusion, is that Jesus, you are great and I am limited.
[10:21] Jesus, you can control the wind, I can't even control the boat that I'm riding in. So Jesus cares for his disciples in the midst of a storm and he takes them into it. And so they wake him up and they say, Master, Master, we perish.
[10:36] And then Jesus arose and he went to the wind, he rebuked it, the raging of the sea and it ceased. And there was a calm. Can you imagine how quiet it was to go from this storm that's filling up your boat that got so strong in them?
[10:50] I mean, very likely four of the men on this boat were very professional fishermen. They had seen things before. They had probably ridden out a storm before or two, but it got to a place where they believed that they were going to die and just instantly went from that to just a calm that is around them.
[11:08] And so a question that you may ask is, why would a loving God, why would a loving Jesus ever ask the disciples to get on a boat and take them out into the middle of the lake to see a storm when he's going to another place?
[11:21] Why would he do this? And then in Mark 4, 40, he said unto them, why are you so fearful? How is it thou have no faith? I think it might have been a little tempting to be a little smart, elegant situation.
[11:32] You know, he's like, why are you so afraid? Like, well, you see, you were sleeping and what you didn't know, Jesus, is that why you were sleeping? This thing got crazy, all right? The boat almost went upside down.
[11:43] Like, what do you mean why we were afraid? Like, what would you be afraid of? I mean, have you ever been on a boat in a storm? As a kid, I was. You feel so very helpless, right? Because there's no getting out of it, you know?
[11:54] You don't jump off the boat and swim, you know, 20 feet over and get out of the storm. Like, you're completely surrounded by it everywhere you look. Everybody around you is reacting to it, and you just don't know how to react.
[12:08] And so the question seems to be like, what do you mean? Why were we fearful? We were in the middle of a storm. But it leads to a deeper and a bigger question, which is this. When the storm is raging and Jesus is sleeping, which one looks more powerful?
[12:24] Were they glancing over to a sleeping Savior and looking out into the storm? And oh, as that happened, they're like, well, he's asleep, and this storm is raging. This is more powerful.
[12:35] This has more of an effect upon my life. Jesus is sleeping. And so we will have storms in the will of God. Not just storms as a form of discipline, but storms as he is discipling us.
[12:45] Not just like Jonah who was in it, but like when people are on a missions trip with Jesus, they have a storm. That's what's happening. They're on a mission trip going to the Maniac of Gadaram on the other side.
[12:57] In the middle of their trip, they have it. If there's any place that would seem like it would be more the center of the will of God than being on a boat with Jesus, I don't know what it would be.
[13:07] The only thing that I could think of that seems more Christian in the day that we live in is if you ever went to a Chick-fil-A in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, all right, follow me here. Gatlinburg is Christian Las Vegas, all right.
[13:20] Have you ever been to Gatlinburg? I mean, everybody's a Christian. I mean, it's unbelievable. Everybody prays for the meal. Like, they pray for you with your meal when they hand it to you at Gatlinburg, all right. And so if you're at a Chick-fil-A in Gatlinburg, you would just seem to be, that must be the most center of God's will.
[13:35] That must be the safest place in the world to be. And so these disciples were thinking, they have to be thinking, we're not like Jonah. We're not like Nebuchadnezzar. I mean, we're on the boat with Jesus in the middle of the lake on a missions trip, and then it came.
[13:51] But it seemed that the Lord checked out. It seemed that the Lord left them alone. The only incident in the Bible that mentions Jesus is sleeping, and it happens during the perfect storm. What a time to fall asleep.
[14:03] And it's intentional, too. It says in Mark 4, 38, and he was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow, and they awake him. He went to a place to sleep, and he got comfortable so he could sleep.
[14:16] So this wasn't accidentally nodding off. This was, hey, we're about to go into a storm. I'm going to take a nap, all right. He knew what was happening, and he still went to sleep. And so the question that we'd ask ourselves is, does God care, and how bad does it have to get before we believe that God would care?
[14:35] It gets to a point where they say, Master, Master, we perish. They could have believed the myth that there was an indifference by God, but he wasn't indifferent. This is a prayer that we would teach our kids to pray on a good day when they would say their prayers.
[14:49] Psalm 4, 8, This is also a prayer that you could say when you're going to sleep in a boat on the middle of a storm, if Jesus is with you, that he maketh us to dwell in safety.
[15:05] What is it that Jesus is able to do? Was it the fact that he was raised the carpenter? Was it the fact that they had driven the boat so many times? It was the fact that he had not shown himself to be somebody that was driving a boat before.
[15:21] What is it that Jesus could do? And the answer is, apparently more than they ever expected. Luke 8, 25, And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they, being afraid, wondered, saying, One to another, What manner of man is this?
[15:34] For he commendeth even the wind and the water, and they obey him. They stand there beholding their God. They stand there in a wonder and an amazement and a fear because all they could ever do was adjust their sails.
[15:48] All they could ever do is cast off an anchor and stop. All they could do is try to shift the weight of the people in the boat to the middle. All they could do is hold on. All they could do in their own human wisdom was to make minor adjustments to the boat.
[16:03] And all they could imagine that anybody else could do was make the same minor adjustments to the boat. But when Jesus wakes up, he doesn't look at the sail, but he looks out into the wind and he rebukes it.
[16:14] Maybe you feel so helpless today because all you can imagine are things that you could do and you're hoping that Jesus will do them for you. But can I tell you, he can do more than adjust their sails. He can change the weather.
[16:27] He can change everything. He can change everything about the situation that you're in. And as a result, you'll say, What manner of man is this? I have served God for 30 years, and now I just say, God is more powerful than I even imagined.
[16:41] I know that he was able to heal that person, and I knew he was able to do this thing. I knew he was able to do this thing. But God even controls the weather on the lake.
[16:52] So Jesus slept until they recognized that they couldn't handle it without him. I'm not saying this is true because the Bible doesn't say it's true, but you just kind of wonder if he might have been just looking out of one eye all the time, like, are they going to ever come over here and ask me to help, you know?
[17:07] That's not what happens. The Bible says he was sleeping, all right? But you could just imagine, it's like, at what point are they going to realize they are out of their league here? It's good for men to come to an understanding of their limitations.
[17:19] A supernatural act from God in the form of a storm is a wonderful way for this to happen. They probably thought they could handle it. Be thankful for a storm that is big enough to get your attention and to let you feel your helplessness.
[17:37] I really wondered, I thought about it, I said, to make you feel helpless or to make you, what I wanted you to recognize here is I want you to know that you ought to feel your helplessness because it's already there.
[17:48] You're helpless. You cannot change the major things in your life. You can't do anything about them. The big things in life are completely out of your hands. But when the storm is big enough, then you recognize you can't do anything about it.
[18:02] If the storm hadn't have been greater, they would have just continued to ride it out. They would have continued to live there in fear. But because the storm was so great, they got to a place and they say, we're going to perish.
[18:14] Unless Jesus does something, we're not going to make it. 1 Corinthians 10, 13, there has no temptation. There is no thinking. There's no testing. Think of a storm. Think of testing.
[18:25] Think of a storm. There is no temptation. There is no storm. Take in you, but as such is common to man. But God is faithful. He will not suffer to be tempted to be in a storm that is above that you are able.
[18:37] But with the storm or with the temptation, also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it. But the way that you're able to bear it is to recognize that you can't handle it.
[18:49] And it's to cry out to Jesus and say, we need you. Master, master, wake up. Because if you don't, we perish. So Jesus confronts his disciples after the storm and he says, where is your faith?
[18:59] And that's where the purpose is here for them. Why put a storm in the middle of the lake that he's traveling on? Because he's bringing his disciples to a question that where they need to answer, which is, you know, where is your faith?
[19:13] Do you understand that in this passage, the very purpose of this tribulation is that the disciples would come to know who he is. Spurgeon says it like this, I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the rock of ages.
[19:28] Learn to kiss the wave that throws me against the rock of ages. Some of you in life have now learned on the other side of the storm to thank him for it. You've learned to say, God, I would have never chosen that for myself.
[19:41] I would have never chosen things to go like that. But now I can thank you for it because I see that those waves, they push me against Jesus and I could know him in a better way.
[19:53] And a lesser storm would not have the same effect. I read an illustration from a book called The Resident Leader, How Adversity Can Change You and the Ministry for Better.
[20:04] It says, A civil engineer professor, Henry Petrowski, has said, Successes teach us very little. A successful design doesn't tell us how close to failure it might be. He was discussing the 2007 collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis and a subsequent investigation that found that more than 150,000 bridges were a need to repair in the United States.
[20:27] Failure and adversity can often be our best teachers revealing potentially fatal blind spots. 150,000 bridges did not tell us that they needed attention as we drove over them every day.
[20:39] But one bridge that collapsed taught us something that changed the way that we dealt with all the other bridges. It's great to have good days in life, but it's in the storms of life that you recognize that you're helpless and you need Him.
[20:54] It is in the storms of life that you recognize something that's true about Jesus that you're not going to learn in any other day and under any other conditions. So through the storms of life, we learn so much.
[21:07] Here's four things I'd like to propose to you that we learn. We learn that Jesus teaches us many precious lessons that without them we would never learn. They're only going to be learned in a storm.
[21:19] And why do I say that? He could have chose any other means in which you wanted to on that day. He could have said in the middle of the day, he said, let's have a picnic here, all right? Set the anchor, guys. Sit down. I want to teach you a lesson.
[21:30] I am more powerful than you recognize and you are more helpless than you recognize. I want to teach you about faith and trust, all right? He could have done that. That isn't what he chose. He chose a storm. He set it in the motion before he takes his nap.
[21:43] Jesus exposes us to our emptiness and our weakness in the storm. We see that our bridge wasn't built the way that we thought it was built. Jesus draws our attention from our self-sufficiency to the fact that God's grace is sufficient and will always be sufficient.
[22:00] There's lack of self-sufficiency. Stephen, I was just talking about this yesterday. He reminded me in the book of Jonah, they were in the same situation. The storm comes, they're throwing things off the side.
[22:11] They're doing everything that they can. They're like, we can't figure out what the problem is and they just have to give up and they say, we got to know what the answer is and they realize that it is Jonah. But that storm was never going the way.
[22:22] Nothing in that boat was going to change until they realized there's just nothing that we can do about this. And then lastly, Jesus weans us from the world and makes us long for heaven in the storm.
[22:34] Have you ever came through a storm and you long for heaven in a way that you never longed for heaven before? That longing for heaven is not a bad thing. It's a very normal and a healthy thing for a Christian because the things on earth have just grabbed so much of a part of our heart and who we are and we feel so comfortable.
[22:52] So when we get in the Bible and it says that we're a pilgrim and we're a stranger, we say, are you sure? Because it sure feels like home here. Are you sure? Because this is a pretty good life we're living.
[23:03] But through the storm, we're like, I'm ready to see Jesus. I'm ready for heaven. And that's a good thing. A longing for heaven is a good thing. So as a result, we rejoice when we see storm clouds coming our way.
[23:18] Spurgeon said he kisses the waves that push him against the rock of ages. And I just want to say that when you see storm clouds coming in your life, say, thank you, Jesus. Say, I don't know what's coming.
[23:28] I don't know what level storm this is coming, but I know that it has a purpose. James, which most likely would not have been on that boat, but James 1, 2, and 4, it says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall on the divers temptations, knowing this.
[23:43] So find it all joy when the diverse testings, temptations, storms, as we call them, when all kinds of different storms come at you in life, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience, that working out a, riding out a storm worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
[24:08] Let patience have her perfect work. Let the storm serve the purpose in your life that it is supposed to serve, which is knowing and cherishing Jesus in a far greater way that you did before the storm.
[24:23] And I ask you the question that Jesus asked the disciples, where is your faith? You know, peace be still is not the end of the story. Jesus rebuked the storm, but then he has to turn and he has to rebuke the disciples.
[24:35] You see, the storm always has a purpose. And even at the end of the storm, we shouldn't stop asking. The storm tests our faith in Jesus. It says that their heart was still fear, they were still frightened.
[24:46] The storm is already over. They're no longer frightened because of the wind and the waves. The boat is already settled. But it says here that they were being afraid, wondered, where is your faith?
[24:59] He says, and they being afraid, they wondered, saying one to another, what manner of man is this? They were afraid, because they said, the Jesus that we thought we knew, He is far greater.
[25:10] It's amazing. The way that we thought we were following Him was not near as close as we thought it was. It was that waking up, that moment, where is your faith? When I read that, I thought about a wedding that I get to be part of, Melanie Richardson, Cammy Littlefield's sister.
[25:27] And right during the wedding, the best man was almost near the front and he realized he had forgot something. He was doing that dance, it was like he was doing the Macarena or something. All right. And he was just patting himself down and he couldn't find, he's like, oh, the ring.
[25:40] And he took off running. And from where I was standing, I could see him out in the distance. And it's always funny to see people in a tuxedo running, right? Because you're like, you didn't plan on running today, did you? It's the best, the favorite part of the airport, like, oh, you didn't plan on running, did you?
[25:52] And somebody's running who didn't plan on him. And he comes back and he found it. And so the question is with the disciples, where is your faith? And they thought, well, it should have been right here. I mean, we've been following you all this time, but they found and they realized that it wasn't there.
[26:07] He didn't say they didn't have faith. He knew that they had faith, but where is it? Where is it being placed? What are you doing with it? I know that you have faith in the Lord, but the storm is over.
[26:19] And sometimes the fear remains because you wonder, will another storm come into your life? You wonder, did God really love you in that? You wonder, what was, why did he do that if he's loving?
[26:30] And so they have the fear because they didn't, recognize his ability over the storm. And now they have the fear because they realized there is so much, they still don't know about Jesus. You know, where is their fear?
[26:41] They could have looked and they could have said, oh, you know what? Here it is. During the storm, they could have said, Psalm 89, verse 89, it says, O Lord God of hosts, who is strong, Lord, liken to thee, or to thy faithfulness round about thee.
[26:55] Thou rulest the raging of the sea. When the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. They had the word of God on it. They had the word of God on what the Messiah could do when it came to a raging storm.
[27:08] Their faith could have been there. They could have said, I know this storm is bad, but Jesus is still here with us. He's still on the boat. God is going to help us with all of our fears. Psalm 34, for I sought the Lord and he heard me and he delivered me from all my fears.
[27:24] He can help you with the fears that you're experiencing today. See, these storms teach us more about Jesus than we would have ever known. And so, what's the purpose here? We've been given the answer and it's in a question, where is your faith?
[27:37] And so, I'd like to tell you, you shouldn't let the storm define you. The fact that you're with Jesus is of far more importance than the weather report. The fact that Jesus is on the boat is the most important factor.
[27:50] It doesn't matter how much water is getting in the boat. It doesn't matter how bad the storm is. The fact that you are with him is what matters the most. And again, I ask, where is your faith? It implies that they had it, but they just hadn't placed it where it should have been at.
[28:05] And so, it's not a matter of feeling. Faith is not something automatic or magical. If this was the case, the men wouldn't have had any issue.
[28:17] It isn't as automatic or magical. Sean cracked me up with his offering devotion as he normally does in talking about Amazon and their wish list.
[28:27] And one of my favorite things is my Google Nest, which is my thermostat in my house. And I really like my thermostat in my house because I can tell my Google device to change my Nest.
[28:40] You know, it's incredible. I can tell the temperature in my house to change. All right? It's very Christ-like, isn't it? All right? I can control the temperature in my home through speaking through this Google device.
[28:53] And so, it would be very nice to be, you set your thermostat and you say, if it gets below 65, kick the heat on. If it gets below something else, it's just, it's automatic. And you wish that you could just set your heart and the response of faith would be just automatic that it's given there.
[29:08] But faith has to be exercised. It has to be put into activity. It has to be like, where is your faith? It has to be right here, Lord. I'm trusting you. So you're busy setting your sails, but you should be setting your heart to apply faith.
[29:24] And here's three ways in which I would help you answer this question, where is your faith? Refuse to allow, I'm going to put it personally here, refuse to allow myself to be controlled by the situation.
[29:36] Faith is a refusal to panic. It's just simple. Faith is a refusal to panic. In the Old Testament, we're told that the high priest shouldn't rend their garments because they weren't people without hope.
[29:48] I cannot panic as a person of faith because no matter how bad the storm is, I realize that I'm on this journey with Jesus. He didn't say that they didn't have faith, but they needed it applied.
[30:00] Jesus questions their fear based upon their presence. Why are you afraid? Where is your faith? I am here. And so, I must reject the desire to panic and I must refuse to allow myself to be controlled by the situation.
[30:17] Secondly, faith will apply, faith will help you apply what you know to be true in your particular situation. They had seen him do the supernatural in their first miracle.
[30:28] The very first miracle, Jesus turned water into wine, which we know, Jesus can handle water, right? He can do whatever he wants with water. And so, as that water is filling up the boat, they could have said, hey, he may just turn this thing into wine if he wants to.
[30:40] He may completely empty the boat. He may do whatever he wants to. Jesus had the ability to do whatever he wanted with water and they should have applied what they knew to their particular situation.
[30:53] And what could they have looked into? Where is their faith? What is the verse besides the psalm? This is what I would have been holding to, having perfect clarity in the moment. I would have said this, remember, he said, let us go over unto the other side of the lake.
[31:08] Jesus, before he took a nap, gave them a clue, gave them an understanding. Hey guys, we're going to the other side of the lake. Talk to you in a little bit. He takes a nap and they wake up and they say, we're going to perish.
[31:21] And he could have told them, didn't I tell you that we were going to the other side of the lake? Faith says, in this particular situation, I may not know what's going to end, but I know the promise of God and the promise of Jesus is, this boat goes to the other side of the lake and we are going to be on it because he said, let us go to the other side of the lake.
[31:42] And so you need to, in your storm, you need to take out the promises of God and you need to look at them and say, what do I know to be true? I know that Jesus Christ loved me so much that he gave his life to die on Calvary.
[31:54] I know that he loves my family so much that he indwells me by the Holy Spirit and he leads and he guides me. There are so many wonderful truths that you can hold on. And so what does the faith remind us?
[32:07] It ought to, where is your faith? It ought to be found in his words. And then lastly, having applied the truth to the situation, we hang on to it. Though fearful disciples went there with little faith to Jesus, that's why the Bible can say what the faith of a mustard seed is a powerful thing because the faith of a mustard seed will take you to Jesus.
[32:27] Even though we need to be rebuked, he will bless us. He responds in a way that we cannot even imagine. We're looking to help setting ourselves and Jesus will change the course of the wind.
[32:38] Psalm 37, 7, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. They could have been on that boat and they would say, hey, this looks really awful, but I know Jesus has power over all of this.
[32:53] And if that boat would have fell and if they would have went into there and they would have died in Jesus, with Jesus and him, they would have been in his presence forevermore. The worst case scenario would have not been as bad as they could have ever if they would have thought because they were with Jesus.
[33:07] I end with a poem by Amy Carmichael, missionary to India, who writes about this story. She says, Thou art the Lord who slept upon the pillow. Thou art the Lord who soothed the furious sea.
[33:21] What matters beating wind and tossing billow if only we are in the boat with thee. Hold us quiet through the age-long minute while thou art silent and the wind is shrill.
[33:32] Can the boat sink while thou, dear Lord, are in it? Can the heart faint that waiteth on thy will? Can the boat sink while you're in it? And can the heart be faint when we know that we're in his will?
[33:45] God put them on that boat and they were living there and the storm came and they should trust him. Jesus had an important meeting that we'll see next week when he will see a maniac of Gadara.
[33:56] But before that, he had a special meeting in the middle of the lake. He could have told the disciples to wake him up when it was time to meet. It was important, needed, and one that all of us need from time to time.
[34:07] The storm came and they woke up Jesus and Jesus said, it's time for your next lesson, guys, right in the middle of the storm. And it may not be where you want to learn it, but some of you are going to find that the next lesson that Jesus has for you where he wants to show himself to you in a very real and powerful way, it's going to come when you think he is sleeping and you're in the middle of a storm and you call out to him.
[34:27] And maybe you're in it right now and you need to call out to him in the storm and say, Lord, without you, I am helpless and I need you to do only what you can do. Heavenly Father, I ask that you would be with us, Lord.
[34:40] I don't know the situation of my brothers and sisters in here today. I don't know if they are in a storm, coming out of a storm, headed into a storm, or might possibly be trying to help somebody else that is in a storm.
[34:54] But we know that storms serve a purpose. And Lord, I'm praying that right now that people will come to realize why it is that you have brought them to this place in their lives.
[35:05] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.