Calming the Storms of Life—Mark 4:35-41
There has been a lot of storms in the last few weeks—not everyone has recovered from them. Many people went to work one morning and didn’t have a home to go to at the end of the day.
It reminded me of the theme song to Gilligan’s Island talks about a group of people taking a Three Hour Tour—a short boat ride around Hawaii, when the weather started getting rough. They ended up stranded for several seasons.
We can be sailing along with everything going great, and all of a sudden, a storm hits that can shipwreck our life, or at least throw us off course.
Have you ever experienced storms in your life? Those times where things just didn’t make sense. Times where your problems seemed so big and your faith seemed so small. Times where you felt so swamped and so afraid that you were going to be taken over by the storm.
Turn to Mark 4:35
After a long day of teaching crowds on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus asks to be taken to the other side of the lake. The disciples obey his directions, as do several other boats.
Did Jesus know the storm was coming? And He asked them to get out on the lake anyway? He must be doing it on purpose.
Along the way, He decides to rest and sleep, yes He’s physically tired, but I believe He also wants to see how they will respond.
During this time, when the Disciples have a few moments “to themselves” a storm erupts which they cannot control. It is beyond their power to do anything about it despite the fact that they are experienced boatmen. Nothing in their experience could save them from the power of the storm.
It seems as if they tried to do everything they could before going to Jesus. We’ll let Jesus sleep and try to take care of this ourselves. “Let’s not bother Him. It’s not that big of a deal. I/We can handle this.”
Too often, when the storms of life come, the last place we turn for help is Jesus. We only go to Him after we’ve tried all we can. “We’re all going to die!!” Jesus, if you just get us out of this I’ll do anything you want.
1. The Normal Life
a. The disciples weren’t really all that different from us. They had lives, families, jobs. They had friends, hardships and joys. And then the met Jesus and He began changing their life.
b. Understand, up to this point, it had been fairly easy for the disciples to follow Jesus. He called, they followed—Jesus was still growing in popularity—people liked Him.
c. They listened to what Jesus said as He spoke and taught. They had watched Jesus heal people. They had witnessed Him raising the dead. They had seen Him cast out demons, and do other mighty works in the context of that preaching and teaching.
d. But all this activity never really required anything of them until Jesus said, "Let us cross over to the other side." Those men had no idea what was coming next. Their faith had to move up to the next level. These men had to cross over in their hearts from having control over their own lives to placing their lives into the hands of Almighty God.
e. Being a disciple was going to get harder to the point that their lives were in danger. And Jesus was leading them to that point. Following God’s directions, His will for your life is not a guarantee of Safety & or Prosperity.
f. Our walk with Jesus is NOT going to be all sunshine and rainbows. And there are times for that—necessary times of green pastures and still waters—so your soul can be refreshed.
g. But so many times when our lives are going along good and easy, we rely more on ourselves than we do God. We pretend that life is going to continue on like this—we become content, comfortable and complacent.
h. The Normal Life is often a great danger to the life of Faith.
i. If you were here one Sunday night last month, we went over Psalm 23. According to that Psalm, we are not designed to stay in the green pastures and by the still waters—those moments are Pit Stops on the Paths of Righteousness that our Shepherd wants to take us on. And in many cases, those paths of righteousness lead us directly into the Valley of the Shadow of Death—where our very lives are on the line.
j. God upsets our Normal Life so we can Live the Life of Faith.
2. Storms Hit us Unexpectedly & Shake our Complacency
a. This passage talks about a “furious squall” hitting them. That was life on the Sea of Galilee, the mountains all around, the cool Mediterranean Sea, with the hot deserts caused storms to hit hard and fast. They are unexpected and even the experts can get caught in them.
b. Life throws a lot of curves. Many of which are beyond our control or ability. Despite all our skills, and experience, we are often unable to deal with the problems of life.
c. And God wants you to know that. He doesn’t want you to forget that you need Him. Wants you to look to Him—wants you to Walk by Faith & Not by Sight--
There are various types of storms in life.
• Literal Storms – we’ve seen this recently—the power is knocked out, the house is damaged, the house and property is destroyed. Your normal life is suddenly altered.
• Situational storms. This is when circumstances seem to plot against you and everything seems to go wrong at once. Murphy’s law is in full force.
Financial Storms Health Storms
• Relational storms. These are when you have tension between people. When a relationship is strained to the breaking point - parent and child, husband and wife, friends. These are the cause of many storms in life.
• Emotional storms. These are often hidden under the surface. We have a nice smile, but inside we’re seething and boiling in distress. People pass us by without realizing that a storm is raging within. You might become Paralyzed by fear. Overcome by guilt. Raging with anger. Consumed with worry or jealousy.
One or more of these storms might describe you this morning. The Bible says three things about the storms of life that I want to discuss before we continue.
• Storms in life are inevitable. Everyone will experience them. If you’re not in a storm right now, just wait. You will be in a storm. They are a part of life. In James 1:2 it says "When you face trials..." It does not say “If you face trials.” So you can Count on it!
• Storms are unpredictable. They come suddenly. They come unexpectedly. They are unpredictable. Matthew’s account uses the word “suddenly” that, "Without warning a furious storm came up". Try as we may, we cannot predict the things that will happen to us. None of us can predict when a simple test at the doctor’s office can bring life-changing news. We experience storms that are very short and ones that last for weeks, months, even years. They are unpredictable.
• Storms are impartial. They happen to good people, they happen to bad people. They happen to believers, they happen to unbelievers. They happen to all of us. Matthew 5:45 says, "He sends the rain on the just and the unjust." Being a Christian does not exempt us from being in storms.
• In many cases, Storms are Intentional
There is a misconception that people have, that the only time they have tough times is when they’re disobeying God. Sometimes that’s true… bad choices have consequences.
But it’s not always true.
In the passage we’re looking at today, Did the disciples get into a storm because Obeyed or Disobeyed Jesus? They were in the center of His will. And they were right in the middle of a storm. When you’re going through a tough time, don’t automatically assume, “I must be out of the will of God.” You may be exactly where God wants you to be
3. Jesus challenged the Disciples in an area of strength. How many of these disciples were fishermen used to working the Sea of Galilee? Many of them were skilled boatmen.
4. Unfortunately, just like the disciples, we often try to fix everything ourselves first, we try everything we can think of to solve the problem. We rely on our own abilities. Most of the time such efforts only bring anxiety and worry.
a. The message that Jesus presents to us in this Gospel account today is borne out in a recent stress management survey. Experts say that only 2 % of our "worrying time" is spent on things that might actually be helped by worrying. The other
98% of our "worrying time" is spent as follows:
40% is spent worrying about things that never happen
35% is spent worrying about things that can not be changed
15% is spent worrying about things that turn out better than expected
8% is spent worrying about things that are so petty that they don’t matter at all.
b. While we are trying to solve all the problems ourselves we like to carry Jesus with us without making Him an active part. We let Him sleep while we do all the work ourselves. We know Jesus is there “sleeping” waiting to be called upon but we do not until we know we can’t handle the storm.
c. As a last resort we go to God and we ask Him to help us. Sadly however, we often come with an attitude that the Disciples had… “Don’t you care if we drown?” “Aren’t you paying attention God, don’t you care what happens to me? Why haven’t you taken care of this already?” We act surprised and hurt by the fact that God hasn’t fixed everything for us already. We cry out and blame God for all that is going wrong. “Do something, ANYTHING” we complain.
This attitude is wrong. This is the Normalcy Jesus wants to Shake us from! God is waiting for the opportunity, waiting for us to do things His way and in ways that will glorify His name.
5. Step out of the Normal Life into the Life of Power
a. When we go to Jesus, we can witness Amazing things!
b. He had the authority to rebuke the storm and tell it to be quiet. Lot’s of people have tried to pit their wills against the forces of nature and we’ve considered them foolish. Not this time.
c. The storm obeyed Him. As the words came out of Jesus’ mouth, the “winds died down and it was completely calm”.
d. Storms may be short term or long lived, but they respond to the command of God. This demonstrates that…
e. All situations are under His control. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Even the created world was under His authority. He restores peace and calmness. This is the hard thing for us to understand…
f. Sometimes we cry out to God and the storms do not disappear. God, we know You can do it, so why aren’t you?
But let me tell you with absolute truth….
g. Whether or not the storms disappear, He is still in control. He is more than enough of what you need.
h. In all these things that He does and allows—the intent of all of it is to draw you closer to Him and grow your Trust & Reliance on Him.
i. Perseverance means nothing if it has never been put through a trial. People endure and persevere through hardship—when someone says, “I persevered when I was captured in Vietnam and made it through my time as a Prisoner of War”—we know that means something.
When they say, “I persevered my trip to Disneyland”—we know that—for the most part—that’s a joke.
The normal life is not always the Friend of the Life of Faith.
j. It’s the unexpected, the disruptions, the storms that reveal our faith and our character.
k. Why does it take a crisis to get us to keep our faith in the forefront?
l. Why do we repeatedly exhaust ourselves, thinking we have the power to Control our Lives? To overcome the Storms of Life? That if we can just work harder, we can do it ourselves?
m. He Promises to be Faithful in our hardships—gives peace to each of us in spite of our troubles. Do not let your hearts be troubled… cast all your cares upon Him… take my yoke upon you…
n. The peace of God can transcend all understanding, all circumstances, all storms. The winds may be blowing around you, the rain may be falling, the floodwaters rising. You may feel that you are in the deepest, darkest valley away from God. But in reality, that is when He is closest—it may not always feel that way, but it is true.
But you cannot escape Him. LYRICS—Valleys Fill First
This is the valley that i'm walking through
And if fells like forever since
I've been close to you
My friends up above me don't
understand why i struggle like i do
My shadow's my only,only companion
and at night he leaves too
Down in the valley, dying of thirst
Down in the valley, it seems that i'm at my worst
My consolation is that you baptize this earth
When I'm down in the valley, valleys fill first
6. Questioning the Disciples
a. When Jesus comes and brings peace, He usually has some questions for us. As I said earlier, the disciples needed to be taken to the other side, they needed to move their understanding of Christ to the next level—to get their life out of the Normal and into the Supernatural. Changing how they know Jesus and Who they think He is
b. Their understanding of Jesus had to get bigger than the storm. Our understanding needs to Grow!
We need to change From seeing Him as a powerful teacher and healer, to one who is truly God Incarnate, One into whose hands we can trust our everyday, normal life and our Storms.
c. Jesus asks you and me the same questions that He asks them. Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? Do you not really trust me? Do you not really know who I AM?
d. After all that you have seen in me, all that we have been through, do you still not believe that I AM the one in control?
e. When we go through storms, do you know what He so often asks us?
What took you so long to come to me? Why am I your last resort?
f. Come to me first, and let me give you rest, then, though the storm is raging, the winds will be calm and still in your heart and mind.
g. Peace in the Storm , Strength to endure it…is just as big a miracle as Calming the Storm.
h. In each case… we are often surprised. We respond with awe to who Jesus really is—Terrified—Who is this? We always seem to be amazed when God does something. Each time, we come back and say, “I don’t believe what just happened”. The “Mountains often look so big, but [our] faith just seems so small”. If you truly have faith in an awesome God, we can rejoice at His miracles without being surprised by them.
7. He wants us to come to Him, He wants to calm the storms in our lives. He may do it on the outside—changing the situation, He may only do it on the inside—calming your heart while the wind continues blowing.
• Both are miracles.
8. Jesus wants to move you out of Normal—it causes you to seek Him, to rely on Him and makes opportunities to See & Experience His Mighty Hand.
9. Are you ready to go Sailing in the Storm with Him?
Psalm 107:28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.
107:29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
107:30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
107:31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.
The Pursuit Life
Showing posts with label trials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trials. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Sermon-1/14/07--Rejoicing in the Shield of God-- 1 Peter 1:6-12
Through Faith
By God’s Power
Until Christ’s Return
We are Shielded from the Controlling Nature of Sin, We are Shielded from the eternal effect of sin—broken relationship with God—we are shielded from the control and manipulation of the demonic—we are shielded from the full force of temptation because God has promised to provide a way out--even though we don’t always take advantage of it.
We are Not Shielded from all Suffering, from Pain or Difficulty. We are not shielded from all problems, emotions or decisions. We are not completely shielded from the effects of sin in our own lives or in the lives of others.
Yet we are still given Refuge and a place of safety, and we can still rejoice even in the midst of trials.
Rejoicing in the Shield of God—1:6-9
God is working to provide us refuge, to protect us now, today. And He will continue to work and protect and guide from this moment until Christ’s Return. Until we hear the trumpet sound, until we meet Him in the air—God will be our Refuge and our strong tower. Despite the long wait our faith has experienced over the years looking forward to His return, despite those that ridicule our belief in the promise of Christ, the reality that we hold on to with Hope—not wishful thinking, but Hope, is that He is returning. And we can and must rejoice in that fact.
Peter wants us to keep everything in the proper perspective. Our hope in Christ’s return changes everything.
No matter what is going on around you today, your Perspective must remain focused on The Reality of Christ’s Return. The reality of the Second Coming should change the way you look at and handle trials. Knowing Christ is returning to establish His kingdom, right all wrongs, and Elevate His people helps us to rejoice for God’s Refuge even during trials—because we know this world and our life in it will not always be this way. There is more than just a light at the end of the tunnel. He is the light! With that in mind you are more able to
Rejoice Even during Trials—Again, becoming a Follower & Disciple of Christ doesn’t mean that life is going to be nothing but roses from here on out. It doesn’t mean you won’t struggle, that you won’t experience loss or pain. We will experience those things just like everyone else because this world is fallen, it is marred by sin.
This world is no longer the perfect garden He made for us. So we will have struggles just like everybody else because we still live here.
In some ways, being a Xn may make you a bigger target in this world. The Scriptures call Satan the “Prince of This World”, and let me assure you that he will try harder to take you down once you have crossed enemy lines.
The unbelieving world—which hated and rejected Jesus, will at times treat believers with the same sentiment.
It is happening all over the world—hundreds of Chinese Xn’s are being arrested for attending church or training seminars . School kids in
Believers endure hardships and trials in this world just like everybody else, and on top of them, we sometimes suffer for our faith.
But remember the perspective that Peter is trying to give you—you Can rejoice even in the trials, rejoice during them, even overcoming them because as a Kingdom Believer, with you’re your mind and perspective focused on the Second Coming, compared to eternity you know they last only for “a little while” v. 6—which means the length of our trials here on earth do not compare to our time in eternity.
So we can rejoice in the relative short duration of our trials—admittedly, this is difficult—things seem long because of our limited frame of reference.
But if you and I will fully grasp the full meaning of the
But we can also rejoice that our sufferings and trials are not without purpose—they are not just random events with no meaning, no purpose or no benefit.
God’s Protection protects us from so many threats that we are unaware of, but when something happens, when some trial is allowed and comes our way it always has the same goal—the strengthening and growth of our faith. In this truth, I’m sure the angels marvel at how God can make something good of our trials here.
The Goal of Our Trials—READ v. 7—
Trials have the ability to bring us closer to God or drive us further away from Him. What do you believe is God’s desire?
God’s desire is that we always be brought closer. As we’ve been seeing on Wednesday nights, even God’s anger desires to draw us closer rather than push us away.
God’s desire is that our momentary trials be understood in light of our greater eternity—these trials Refine our Faith and make our eternity even better.
Even though it may be painful, these things help us in some way, they prepare us for something, they refine us. With our limited perspective, we probably won’t ever fully understand how God will use our trials this side of His coming.
Alan Mairson wrote an article for National Geographic about beekeepers who raise and transport bees for a living. He told the story of Jeff and Christine Anderson and how their daughter overcome an allergy to bee stings.
To build up her immunity, doctors administered a series of injections to Rachel over a four-month period. But, in order to maintain immunity, she needed a shot or a bee sting every 6 weeks .
So every 6 weeks Rachel’s parents would go outside and catch a bee. Then, as Rachel recalls, “Mom would take hold of my arm and roll my sleeve up. Then my Dad would make the bee mad and stick it on me and count to ten before he took the stinger out. But it worked.
”Now when I accidentally get stung, it barely swells, it barely hurts.”
Imagine how hard it must have been for those parents to know this was the only way to help their daughter live. In a world full of bees, a loving father must not shield his child from every sting. In fact, for the child’s own good the father must at times induce pain.
Your Faith, your Eternity is more important to God than your happiness, it’s more important than your comfort—your faith is “of greater worth than gold”. So He is willing to do anything to make your faith better, more pure, more beautiful, more glorifying to Him.
You’ve probably seen pictures of gold nuggets, but have you ever seen gold ore? It’s not very pretty, in fact, it really doesn’t look anything like gold at all. Not until you begin heating the ore does the gold begin to separate from the other minerals and elements. Only after careful, deliberate and intense heat can something beautiful be made. God is refining you today so you will be beautiful in eternity.
Do you value your faith as much as God does? If your faith is this valuable to God, shouldn’t it be valuable to you as well? In fact, your faith should be of greater value to you than any earthly treasure—even gold itself. Even the purest, most beautiful gold will not last in eternity. Your faith must be similarly refined so it can be PROVEN GENUINE. In other words, if your faith is real—then nothing will come between you and God. No person, no hurt, no failure, no threat will be able to pull you away from your faith in God.
God wants to see your faith Proven Genuine! A genuine faith brings greater glory to Him!
Everything that happens in our lives must be understood in light of what will bring glory to God. Everything in your life is preparing you for service and glory today.
When your faith is proven genuine and made pure it results in Praise, Glory and Honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
A Genuine Faith is one that Walks by Faith, not by sight.
Unseen Faith at Work-- READ v. 8.
Sadly instead of living by faith and not by sight—you and I live most days by sight and not by faith. It comes more naturally to us. But we have so much more available to us.
These believers were either 2nd Gen. Xns or not in
Many times during our trials our hearts sympathize with what Peter says—“though you do not see Him now”. In the midst of our struggles it seems like we cannot see His face, feel His Presence or hear His voice. But we still believe He is there walking us through the valley of the shadow of death. We still know that the unseen hand of Jesus is at work all around us.
Last week I reminded all of you of the fact that we will not be aware of the majority of instances when the Shield, Protection and Refuge of God is working. Even during trials and struggles His hand is still working.
The Hand of Jesus is working even when we cannot see Him. And True Faith will still believe in Him no matter what and in the midst of the trials God can and does fill you “with an inexpressible and glorious joy”.
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