Greg Laurie - Getting through the Storms of Life (07/20/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie teaches from Matthew 8 how Jesus calms the storm on the Sea of Galilee while the disciples panic. He shows that storms come to every life, often when we obey God, but Jesus is with us in them—sometimes stopping them, always walking through them—to build our faith and bring us safely to the other side.
Storms Are Coming – No One Escapes Life's Trials
Good morning. For this message we are in Matthew chapter 8. And the title of it is "Getting Through the Storms of Life". Matthew chapter 8. I don't know about you but I have pretty much given up on weathermen. You know. They never seem to get it right. Oh they say a storm is coming. And no storm comes. Or they say it is going to be hot and sunny tomorrow. And it rains. I have one sure way to bring a storm. Wash my car. Works every time. By the moment I finish washing it the drops start coming.
But one thing I will tell you and you have heard me say this before is bald men always know when it is raining first. This is a fact of life. I will be walking down the street with my wife and I will say it is starting to rain. She will say no it isn't. And I will say oh no. It is raining. No Greg it is not raining. I said trust me. And then I say bald men always know when it is raining first. See she has so much hair and it is so thick she won't know for like a week. But I know. I know immediately. I could have a revival with what she ends up with in a brush after one brush and it would be like a transformation of my head or something.
But have you ever been out and about doing whatever it is you do and an unexpected storm came. Now that doesn't happen so much in California but if you are say over in Hawaii storms come and go very quickly. I remember when I was a kid living in Hawaii in the early 60s storms would come out of nowhere and frogs would come out of nowhere. And I am talking big gnarly gross frogs. And then as soon as the storm started then it would stop and the sun would come out and all these frogs would be out you know. And the street cars would run over them. They would be laying like this. And we would use them as frisbees. We would throw them. They were good for one throw. Hey. They were dead. Don't feel bad for them. What can you do?
But storms sometimes come unexpectedly. And some are big storms. Even scary ones. We all remember Hurricane Andrew and Katrina. When did this whole thing of naming storms start? You know and I think they are starting to run out of names. Here are actual names that were used of storms. There was Hurricane Larry. I don't know how. Even if it was a bad hurricane. Can you take that seriously? Hurricane Larry is coming. How about this one? I am not making these up. Hurricane Fabian. Oh. Hurricane Teddy. That sounds like you could almost hug that hurricane. But my favorite is Felix. Hurricane Felix. Felix the cat. The wonderful, wonderful cat. Really? A hurricane called Felix. Those are all real titles of hurricanes. Or names I should say.
When Real Storms Hit – Metaphor for Life's Troubles
But regardless of their name storms can wreak havoc in your life. And you know how it goes. You are just out and about and the birds are singing and the sun is shining. And then a drop of rain falls. Then all of a sudden ominous clouds build. And it is a downpour. And when it rains it pours. Now clearly I am talking about storms as a metaphor for trouble in our lives. When storms come you might be dealing with a difficult or broken relationship. Maybe you are going through a financial crisis. It might be legal problems. It might be painful health problems. The effects of age. You might have a stroke or a heart attack or dealing with rebellious children. Or struggling with a conflict situation at work. Or you are laid off from your job. And the list goes on.
And here is what you need to know. Is storms are going to come. It comes down to this. And I hope this is not the most depressing thing I have ever told you. But there are two kinds of people in the world. Those who are going through a crisis and those who are going to go through a crisis. So once we accept that basic truth it makes life a little bit easier. So if you are in between storms so to speak then enjoy it. Because one will be coming soon enough. Seems like you are either pulling out of one or pulling into another.
You know in the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spoke of two men building houses. And they both built these homes that probably would be identical. Sort of like track homes that look exactly the same. Same paint scheme. Same landscaping. Maybe they even had the same car parked out in front. Identical on the outside. But one was built on a good foundation of stone. And the other was built on a faulty foundation of sand. And then Jesus said, And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall because it was founded on the rock. Notice He says, And the rain descended. Not if, but and. You know the rain is going to come. The Bible says the rain falls on the just and the unjust.
We don't control our lives as hard as we try. But we do decide what we will do when storms come. How we will respond. You may remember a film from a number of years ago called The Perfect Storm starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. And that was the story of an actual storm that took place in 1991. It was actually a storm stronger than any in recorded history that happened off the coast of Massachusetts. This perfect storm, so called, was because three storms combined into one according to weathermen creating an almost apocalyptic situation in the Atlantic Ocean.
Here is what took place. Two existing storms were hit by a hurricane, ironically dubbed Hurricane Grace. The combination of these three weather elements combined produced this monstrous hurricane that was 2,000 miles wide. And there were waves of a hundred feet that the people out there faced. Well here before us now in Matthew chapter 8 is the story of the disciples. And I think Hurricane Grace is a pretty apt description of what they were facing as well.
The Storm on the Sea – Matthew 8:23-27
Let's read Matthew chapter 8 starting in verse 23. Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, and the boat was covered with the waves. But He, speaking of Jesus, was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and woke Him up saying, Lord save us. We are perishing. He said to them, Why are you so fearful? Oh you of little faith. And then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm. So the men marveled saying, Who can this be that even the winds and the sea obey Him?
Let's pause for a moment of prayer. Lord as we look at Your Word and we think about storms that come into our lives, help us to know what to do. Help us to learn from the example of the apostles as they faced the storm. Speak to us from Your Word. We would ask now in Jesus' name. Amen.
Look for a moment at verse 23. We read, When He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And where did that lead? Right into a storm. This storm came because they obeyed the Lord, not because they disobeyed Him. That is something I want to bring to your attention. Because sometimes when troubles come we say that is a result of disobedience. And the fact may be that storm may be actually a result of obedience. And God can use storms as we will see in a moment.
Jesus Sleeps Through the Storm – Trust in God's Will
So let's start with point number one. Storms do come into our lives. Again, storms come into our lives. This was a serious storm to frighten such seasoned sailors to actually be afraid for their lives. In fact, in the original language it is the word also used to describe an earthquake. So this storm they were facing was what we might describe as a mega storm covering the boat so they couldn't even see past their hand for the most part. Mark's gospel describing the same storm says, The waves were breaking over the boat so much the boat was filling up. Or as the Amplified translation puts it, A whirlwind revolving from below upward swept down on the lake and the boat was filling with water and they were in great danger.
So that gives you an idea of how massive of a storm this was. Have you ever seen that TV program called The Deadliest Catch? I think those guys are insane. Okay. First of all. But I am glad somebody is going out there, you know, and bringing back food for me. But. crabs and other things. But hey man, I would never get on one of those boats. I mean I look at what some of those guys face and I would be crying for mommy. Okay. So that is kind of a picture of the disciples. And of course they are not in some massive modern ship. They are on this very primitive wooden craft just being tossed back and forth sort of like a cork in the ocean.
And so despite these overhead waves, this is what is amazing about the story, Jesus is asleep. See in the boat they would have sort of a little lower compartment. It wasn't very large. Jesus is sleeping. How did He do that? How could He sleep in a storm? And let me ask you a question. Has it ever seemed to you as though God were asleep during your times of need? You know you were going through some difficulty and you cried out to the Lord and you didn't really hear an answer that you know of from heaven. And you thought, well maybe God is just bored. God is preoccupied. Or maybe He is asleep.
Well that is not true of course. Because Psalm 121 says, He that watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. God never falls asleep on you. Now we fall asleep on each other, don't we? Have you ever been talking to someone and they fell asleep? I have. Because I am a preacher. And by the way, I know when people are sleeping. You are not fooling me. I don't know if this comes as a revelation to you. But you can see me standing here, right? Guess what? I can see you too. And I can see back pretty far. And so when someone is doing this thing like this and I mean for a really long time and then periodically they go like this. I know what is going on. I put you to sleep.
Actually that actually took place for the Apostle Paul. He was preaching on one occasion and it was a packed out house and he was going very long. Typical long winded preacher. But this was the Apostle Paul. Well worth hearing that message. And so they have different levels. There was a balcony and some guy named Eutychus is sitting by a window listening. He falls asleep and falls out of the window. And dies. So they come to Paul and interrupt him. Paul. What? What? I am preaching. Paul. What? What? What? What? What? Eutychus was listening. He fell out of the balcony and died. Okay. Hold on everyone. Goes over to Eutychus. Prays for him. Raises him from the dead. And then Paul does what any self-respecting preacher would do. He finishes his sermon. True story. Right there in the book of Acts.
Well listen. Maybe we fall asleep but God never does. But here is what we are really seeing in this story. Jesus was fully God. Right? He was also fully man. You know what that means? That means He was a man like you. He was a human like you. He felt pain. He felt sorrow. He felt the warmth of friendship. He was weary from a hard day's work. He was hungry. And yes. He was very sleepy. He was absolutely exhausted from a hard day's work. And He just crashed in the lower part of the boat.
And you know when you are serving the Lord it can be draining in many ways. It can even be draining spiritually. I remember asking Billy Graham a number of years ago what he experienced when he gave the invitation for people to come to Christ. And he turned to me and said, Who are you and why are you talking to me? Which was a really awkward moment for me. So. Anyway. So. No. That is not what he said. No. Actually Billy is like the most gracious guy I have ever met. That would be the last thing he would say.
I said, Billy what do you feel when you are giving the invitation? When you are standing up there? Because for years I would go wherever Billy did his crusades. I would sit on the platform. I was only feet away from him. I would go into the event and out of the event with him. And it was a great joy and I also learned a lot. And he said, I feel when I am preaching and I am giving the invitation I feel like power is draining out of me. And I understand that because it is like a spiritual battle that is raging on.
So we can get tired doing the work of the Lord. We should never get tired of doing the work of the Lord. But we can be tired when we are doing the work of the Lord. I was just in Dallas, Texas recently. And we were meeting with pastors there because we have a crusade coming up later this year for Harvest America. And then the following year, 2015, we are going to do a full-blown crusade in Dallas in a larger stadium. But there were a lot of pastors that came to our meeting including one of my favorite preachers of all time, Chuck Swindoll. And I just love Chuck's preaching. And I love his passion and his fervor. I listen to his podcasts all the time and I told him. And I said, Chuck, we walked together almost every morning. He looked at me like I had lost my mind. I said, Well, you are in a podcast. That is how that works. And so he just had so much joy. I said, Chuck, how old are you now? He said, I am 79 years old. I said, Chuck, you are preaching better than ever. And he says, Well, I love what I do. And Chuck Swindoll has the loudest voice ever. I love what I do. My hair, what little I have is going backwards. But he was just so full of joy and passion. That inspired me.
So we need to love what we do. But it is tiring. And Jesus was tired after a day of ministry. And he was sleeping soundly. How do you sleep in a storm like that? Well the way you do it is you are confident in the will of God. In other words you know you are doing what you should do. You need a clear conscience to get a good night's sleep. You know sometimes people they don't want a moment of quiet. They will have the TV on to the very last moment. And the second they get up they turn on the radio or turn on something. They don't want to be alone with their thoughts. Right.
But really the best way to settle down for the night is read Scripture and commit the day to the Lord and pray as you are drifting off. But if you have a guilty conscience and you are afraid that something you have done is going to catch up with you it is hard to get a good night's sleep. Oh I am going to need these sleeping pills. Or I am going to need this other thing. No. Just have a clean conscience and walk right with God. And you can sleep like a baby through just about anything. And the Bible even says in Psalm 127, He gives His beloved sleep. Isaiah 26.3 says, You will keep Him in perfect peace because He trusts in you.
This reminds me of the story in Acts chapter 12 of when James was put to death. And then Peter was arrested by Herod. It was clear Peter was next on Herod's hit list. Peter was going to die. So what did the church do? We read that they got together and they prayed. They prayed together for Peter. And then as we read the story in Acts 12 and we watch it unfold, Peter is asleep. An angel shows up in answer to the prayers of the people and has to practically smack Peter to get him out of his slumber. He is probably one of those guys that snored really loudly. And finally Peter woke up and realized that he had been delivered by God. I think he was probably the only person who slept in Jerusalem that night. All the Christians were praying. But he slept well because he was confident in God's will.
I think the way Peter looked at it was, well, okay. If I am put to death then I go to heaven. And if I am not put to death then I will continue to serve the Lord. That sounds like a win-win scenario to me. So I think I will just go to sleep. You know sometimes you have the pressures of life, worries. We all have them. I do too. So I will pray about it and I will say, now Lord I can't worry about this for a while. So I am going to let you worry about it. I am going to get some shut eye. Now I am kind of being humorous in a way because God is not going to worry about it for sure. But I am just entrusting it to Him. And we need to do the same thing.
Cry Out to Jesus – He Hears in the Storm
So here was Jesus asleep during the storm. And so here are the disciples in a panic. That brings me to point number two. We need to cry out to Jesus in the midst of our storms. They can't take it anymore. Verse 25, they cry out, Lord save us. Though the shrieking of the storm did not wake Him, the cry of His people did. So here are the disciples calling out to the Lord. He hears them. Just like a grandparent listens for a child or a mother or a father hears the cry of their child. The Lord hears the cry of His own children.
Now they had exhausted all of their efforts. There was nowhere else for them to go. You know sometimes things have to really get bad before we call out to God. And that is not good. You know, oh well I have exhausted every resource. I have tried everything. Well you should have prayed earlier. It reminds me of a story of an old sea captain who was quite vocal about his atheism. One night during the storm he was washed overboard. And his men heard him crying out to God for help. And so when he was rescued one of the men asked him, I thought you didn't believe in God? He replied, Well if there isn't a God there ought to be for times like this.
And that is what it takes for some people. They have to hit rock bottom. But C.S. Lewis reminds us even atheists have their moments of doubt. And sometimes those hardships of life will be the very thing that will bring us to God. Someone who made a commitment to Christ at one of our crusades in Chicago wrote me a while back. And she writes, Me and my husband have been going through a lot. He had a stroke a few weeks ago. And we have been really struggling. I became upset with God as all these things hit at once. And then last week I was told by my mother that I never really fit into our family and never would. And I was no longer welcome at their home.
She writes, I was ready to take my own life. So here is a woman now. She is having problems at home with her husband. She is having problems with her mother. How does God reach her? She writes about her daughter, age 8, who wanted to go to a harvest crusade. She heard about the event we were holding there. So mom went with her daughter. And she writes when the invitation was given, the daughter wanted to go forward. She continues in her letter and writes, So I went with her. But little did I know God was sending me down too. After a few minutes I fell to my knees and I felt His love. I knew He loves me and has forgiven me. You have saved my life, not only my soul. That is a beautiful letter. But this is a person that had to hit rock bottom.
And so here are the disciples calling out to Jesus for help. Psalm 91 says, The Lord says, I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me I will answer. I will be with them in trouble and I will rescue them and honor them.
Jesus Calms the Storm – But First Rebukes Fear
So finally Jesus wakes up. Look at verse 26. He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. Now Jesus could have said, Now look you guys. Don't bother me. I was asleep. This is your problem. But now we see Jesus coming to their aid. Responding to their call. That brings me to point number three. God has His purposes in the storms of life. God has His purposes in the storms of life.
Listen. Where there are no trials in life there are no triumphs. It has been said, The hammer that shatters glass also forges steel. And it reminds me of a song of a friend of mine from years ago. I've Got Confidence. Andre Crouch is his name. I just talked to him on the phone today. And in his song I've Got Confidence he sings. Oh now I forget what he sings. All right. Job was sick so long till the flesh fell from his bones, his wife, cattle and children. Everything that he had was gone. But Job in his despair said he knew that God still cares. And then he goes on to sing, I've Got Confidence.
So I actually said I am going to use one of your lines on my message tonight. And Andre says, Tell me what you are going to say. And so I am like quoting Andre's song back to him. It is a very awkward moment. Fortunately there I remembered more than I remembered here. But God will come through for us. And so here they cry out and the Lord hears. And he has this purpose that sometimes it seems it would be a better thing if we never went through a storm. But there are things we learn in storms. Things we learn in hardship. Things we learn in crisis. We learn nowhere else.
Think about this. We have more from Paul's prison house than from his first visit to the third heaven. He goes to heaven. He comes back. He gives us a few lines. He gets thrown in prison. And he gives us first and second Timothy among other writings. So we would think oh no. Life should always be easy. And life should always be just flowing the way we want it to. But God can use us. And remember Jesus told the disciples to cross over. So this all happened as a result of following Him.
One of our favorite scriptures, one that many of us have committed to memory, is Psalm 23. The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me light out in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake. We love that. It is such a beautiful picture. Here we are little sheep being led by our Shepherd through the pastures to the still waters. Fantastic.
By the way, it is not a compliment when God compares us to sheep. Because sheep are one of the dumbest animals on the face of the earth. If God compared us to dolphins that would actually be cool. Because dolphins are super smart. If He compared us to dogs even that would even be a compliment. Compared to sheep, sheep are stupid. Sheep tend to run with the pack. Sheep have no defense mechanisms. Sheep can't even escape from a predator. Sheep are basically leg of lamb waiting. All that is needed is mint jelly. And it is a done deal. So they need the Shepherd. If the Shepherd doesn't come through for the sheep, the sheep is dead. And we are like that too.
So we love that. Oh yeah, the Lord is my Shepherd. He makes me lie down on the green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. But wait. It goes on. And it says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Now we love the green pastures and the still waters. We don't like valleys. Especially if you have the word death attached to them. But yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
So here are the disciples going through their storm. And even as David said, The Lord is a Shepherd who was with them. So Jesus was with His disciples.
Three Kinds of Storms – Correcting, Protecting, Perfecting
Here is something to consider. There are three types of storms that can blow into our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. You might want to write this down. Number one, there are correcting storms. Number two, there are protecting storms. And finally, number three, there are perfecting storms. Each one is different.
Number one, there is correcting storms. These are effectively storms we bring on ourself. The perfect example of this is Jonah. He disobeyed God. He tried to run. A great storm came. He said, Throw me overboard and the storm will stop. He thought, He thought he was going to die. Jonah had no knowledge of some great fish waiting to swallow him. He said, Throw me overboard. And sure enough, the moment he went over the side, the storm ceased from its raging. But you could say that that really came as a direct result of Jonah's disobedience.
And there are times that we create our own storm. You know people come in. We don't know why our marriage is falling apart. Why is God letting this happen? Because you are like a lousy husband? Or you are like the worst wife ever? Oh yeah. We have something to say about a good or a bad marriage. And whenever you find a marriage is unraveling I am telling you it is because of what they are or are not doing as husband and wife. So why is this happening? Because you are not doing what God told you to do. Or maybe it is some other thing. You are reaping the consequences of it.
You know you go out drinking. And then you drive home and you get pulled over and you get a DUI. Why did God let this happen to me? Because you are an idiot. Because you went out drinking. You got drunk and drove. That is why. But God, listen. You brought that storm on yourself. Or maybe you have been lying to a bunch of people and you got caught in your lie. Or you have been having an affair and you were founded. Why is this happening? Because you are a dog? Yeah. You brought that storm on yourself. Don't blame God. Sometimes we bring these storms upon ourselves unnecessarily. But the good news is even when we do that God can still work in the middle of them and even bring good things out of them.
Number two, there are protecting storms. Now this one is interesting. Over in the Gospel of John the sixth chapter is the story of the feeding of the 5,000. By the way that is the only miracle found in all four Gospels. The feeding of the 5,000. And of course that probably was the most popular miracle Jesus ever did. I mean it is like people thought, yeah, you know, giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, cleansing lepers. That is great. But free lunch. Now we are talking. It was a very well received miracle. So much so that after He performed it they said, we want to make you king by force. It is interesting. We want you to be king if you want to be king or not. And they were actually forcing this upon Him. According to John 6. 14 they came by force to make Jesus king.
Well Jesus wanted to defuse this movement and He wanted to get His disciples out of there. That is the worst thing that could happen to His disciples. On more than one occasion they argued about who was going to be the top dog in heaven. And He did not want them to go from being unknown to being in a position of power as He was made king on the terms of the people. So He told them to get in a boat immediately and they crossed over and a storm came. That was a protecting storm. He was actually protecting them from something far worse.
Did you know there are times when God will not answer your prayer the way you wanted Him to and you think God is so unfair and then you look back and say, ah, that was a protecting storm. You wanted to marry that girl so bad. You just knew that guy was Mr. Right. You pleaded with God. You prayed and prayed and prayed and the Lord said no. Now ten years have gone by. And you saw what happened to the other person that ended up married to that person. And then you look at the great spouse the Lord may have given you and you say, yes. Thank you Lord for protecting me from myself. Sometimes we ask for things that could actually harm us. And because God loves us He says, ah, no. I am not going to let you do that.
And finally, number three, there are perfecting storms. This is what these disciples were experiencing. They did nothing wrong. They did not bring this storm upon themselves. Jesus was not trying to protect them from something. He was doing it to produce something in their life they needed. He was looking for a desired result. 2 Corinthians 4.17 says, our present troubles are quite small. They won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever. So don't look at the troubles you see now. Look to what is not yet seen. For the troubles you see will soon be over. But the joys to come will last forever.
Yeah. You know what? There are lessons you learn in storms. You just don't learn anywhere else. In Acts 14.21 we have the apostles visiting a church. And they told the people there, we through many tribulations must enter the kingdom of God. That is not usually a verse you see someone hanging on their wall. Is it? We through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. Who wants to put that verse up? That is almost as bad as all that live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. There are some promises we would rather forget. But they are just as true as Romans 8.28 of God causing all things to work together for good to those that love Him. And Jeremiah 29.11 that tells us that His plans for us are good and so forth.
And we would rather that passage read, through many days of perpetual happiness and bliss we enter the kingdom of God. Nice thought. It is not in the Bible. It is not true of life. No one is exempt from experiencing the storms of life. But God is doing a work. That is what you have to understand. God is at work. He will not waste your pain. He will take those things you are going through and use them for His glory in time. And ultimately God's end game if you will, His primary purpose for you is to make you more like Jesus. He is getting you ready for heaven. He predestined you. Yes. The Bible teaches predestination. People argue endlessly about who or who is not predestined. And they don't think what we are predestined for. The Bible says we are predestined to be conformed into the image of His own dear Son.
Jesus Is Always With Us – Through Every Storm
Bringing me to point number four. Sometimes Jesus stops the storms. But He is always with us through them. Again, sometimes Jesus stops a storm. But He is always with us through it. Look at verse 26. He says, Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Before He rebuked the storm, first He rebuked the disciples. The way I see it, better to weather the storm than to face the correction of Jesus.
Why did He rebuke Him? Because they accused Him of not caring. Verse 25, they say, Lord, save us. We are perishing. Mark's gospel, speaking of the same event, tells us they frantically woke Him up shouting, Teacher, don't you even care? We are going to drown. And that is when Jesus rebuked them. They woke Him up. Don't you even care about us, man? We are going to drown. Oy vey. What is wrong with you guys? Haven't you learned anything from what you have seen up to this point? They were fearful because they were faithless. And they forgot what He had said and what He had done.
Now in Mark's gospel, speaking of the same event, we have a very important detail that is omitted here in Matthew. It is Mark 4. 35 where when this journey starts Jesus said to them, Let's cross over to the other side of the lake. By the way, the Sea of Galilee is not an ocean. It is a lake. A really big freshwater lake. Let's cross over to the other side of the lake. He said, Let's cross over. Hattie said, Let's get in the boat and drown in the middle of the lake. I probably wouldn't board that boat. No. He said, Let's get over to the other side. He didn't promise smooth sailing. But He did promise a safe arrival. And when He said they would get to the other side that meant they would get to the other side.
Listen. One is safer with Him in a storm than anywhere else without Him. I don't care how good life is. I would rather be with Jesus in the storm than in the plushest, most luxurious, fantastic place without Jesus. And God is with you in your storm, if you are going through one. Psalm 46. 1 says, God is our refuge and our strength in ever-present help and trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Though the waters foam and roar and the mountains quake with their surging.
You know sometimes God will calm a storm. And sometimes He will just walk with us through it. When I was a little kid I went to Southern California Military Academy. That is in Long Beach. Or I should say it was in Long Beach. And we would have mandatory chapel every Sunday. So the little cadets would show up. We had our little uniforms. And we would go sit down in the chapel. And you know not being raised in a Christian home. This was the only time I can recall for the most part that I was ever in a church service.
And I remember a song we used to sing. And I won't sing it for you. But the lyrics were, When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high. And don't be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm is a golden sky. And the sweet silver song of a lark. Walk on through the rain. Walk on the song went. And I remember singing it as a little kid in my little uniform you know. And I was going through this crazy life. And it was the only life I knew. But you know the way my mom lived and the bad choices she made as an alcoholic and all the rest of it. And I was just singing you know walk on through the storm.
The problem with that stupid song is there was no God in it. It didn't say God is with you in your storm. It just said walk on and you will never walk alone. Oh. Well who is with me? The lark that I was singing about? I am not alone. Who is here? That was the issue I had with that song. But you know we do walk through a storm and we can hold our head up high and so forth. Not because of some bird singing but because the Lord is with us. And He was with me as a little boy though I hadn't yet put my faith in Him completely. God was there as I cried out to Him.
So sometimes He will make the storm go away. You know sometimes you will get the call from the doctor. They will say these tests are not looking good. I need you to come in. That alone will give you a heart attack. You can be in perfect health and get a call like that and be ill as a result. Right? And so you go in and you sit down and they say you have cancer. That is a word you never wanted to hear. And so if you are a Christian hopefully the first thing you do is you get together with your Christian friends and you say pray. Pray for me. And what do we pray? We say Lord remove this cancer. And I will tell you we have prayed that prayer and we have seen God answer it.
And sometimes God has answered it supernaturally where cancer was there and it isn't there when they go and get their next test. Sometimes God has removed it through the hands of a skilled surgeon who does their job well. I believe that can be the intervention of God just as surely as a miracle even through chemotherapy, radiation, whatever it is. Hey Lord just help this person. We pray for it to be removed. Of course we do that. And sometimes God will come and boom it is gone. Or you have this huge bill. No way I can pay it. And boom something happens and you have the money to pay it. Or whatever it is. A miracle happens. Thank God for those times. And by the way pray for those things. Pray for them.
Then there are times the Lord says, you know I am not going to do that for you today. I have some lessons I want you to learn. And you are not going to learn them if I remove it. You are going to have to go through the storm. But good news. I will be there every step of the way. You will never walk alone. And He walks with us through that storm. That is what was happening initially here.
He does rebuke the storm. He says, be still. In Mark's Gospel He says, peace be still. Or a better translation, be muzzled. Jesus was speaking to the power behind the storm. In this case it was Satan. I was out walking the other day and some lady was out walking three large dogs. And she was talking on her cell phone. And the dogs had no leash. And they see me and they come running at me full speed. I am like, peace be muzzled. She didn't even know what was happening. I needed to text her or something or call her. She was oblivious. And those dogs were on the loose. And I said to her nicely but firmly, Amen. Please put your dogs on leashes. Thankfully they didn't bite me but they sure could have.
And so Jesus interestingly speaks to the power behind the storm. Be muzzled. Because in this instance the devil was behind the storm. Showing us the devil is active. He is trying to stop Jesus. But then He stops the storm. And as I said He rebuked the disciples. But here is the thing we want to fall back on again as we bring this message to a close. He said let's cross over to the other side. So listen. No matter what you are going through right now here is what I want you to learn from this story. Storms don't last forever. And you are going to get over to the other side.
Sometimes the devil whispers into our ear, you are not going to make it as a Christian. You are going to crash and burn. That is a lie. Jude 24 it says, Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Philippians 1. 6 says, Being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will finish it unto the day of Jesus Christ. Then over in Hebrews 12 we are told we should be looking unto Jesus the author and what? Finisher of our faith. God finishes what He begins. Greg does not always finish what He begins. Greg starts projects, loses interest, moves on to something else. God never does. He completes what He starts.
The storms will come in every life, the believer and the non-believer. The rain will fall and the wind will blow. But it is only the child of God that can lay hold of Romans 8.28. It says, God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Non-believer can quote that verse that they like. But it has no relevance to them whatsoever. It is only the Christian who can lay hold of that.
Storms come and storms go. But for some, life itself is one long storm. It may be very difficult circumstances they are facing. It could be a disability. It could be some tragedy that has befallen them and it has altered their very existence. But even that person can know there is hope because they are going to get over to the other side. And that other side, of course, is heaven.
You know, we might wonder if these storms come. Is God in control? Well, of course, the answer is always yes. What about if my house burns? God is in control. What about if my marriage falls apart? God is in control. What about if I get cancer? God is in control. What about if I die? Well, God is in control. You will still get to the other side. But in this case, the other side is now heaven.
Listen. Here is the choice. Would you rather have a nice, easy flight and a crash landing. or a bumpy flight and a safe landing? I mean, we like smooth flights. I don't know if you love turbulence. I don't. But I would rather have a little turbulence and land safely than have a perfectly smooth flight and then crash. So you may be having a bumpy flight, but you are going to have a safe landing and you can know in the end that you really will live happily ever after.
Jesus – The Captain of Your Boat
Let me close with one more little Bible story. The day that Jesus boarded Simon Peter's boat. Peter was a seasoned fisherman. He knew all about the movements of fish. He knew the best time to fish. He knew the right moment to pull the nets in. He was an expert. Seasoned. And one day Jesus shows up. and says, I'd like to come on your boat and let's go out for another load of fish because Peter had fished and caught nothing.
Now think about this. If you are a sailor and some guy comes along who isn't a sailor or a fisherman and tells you what to do, you might think, I don't know, do you really know what you are talking about? Peter is the fisherman. Jesus is effectively the landlubber. Hey, let's go back out in your boat and go out for a big catch of fish.
I love Peter's response. He says, Oh Lord, we have toiled all night and we have caught nothing. Nevertheless, your word. will do it. Now I wonder how he said that. It matters, doesn't it? If he said, Hey, we have caught nothing but it is your word. Captain, I will do it. Or did he say, Lord, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, your word will do it. By the way, implied in the original language is the idea of captain or captain of this boat. So he actually refers to Jesus in sort of a nautical term. You are the captain of the boat. You are the admiral here. At your word, we will do it.
You know the rest of the story. They pulled in so many fish they couldn't believe it. The boat began to sink under its weight. Peter is blown away. Jesus just invaded his world in a way he could understand. Peter falls down before him and says, Hey, depart from me. I am a sinful man. Don't waste your time in me, Jesus. I am going to let you down. Jesus says, You follow me and I will make you a Fisher of men. Or another way to translate it, Follow me and you will catch men alive.
So here is the question. Will you let Jesus be the captain of your boat? Will you let him on board? It is like when you are boarding a naval vessel people you have to request permission to come aboard. And then they say permission is granted. It is amazing to me that Jesus is saying permission to come aboard to you. Now He is God. He could say, I am coming on this boat. If you don't like it, shut up. No. He says, Hey, permission to come aboard? Hey, Peter, can I come on your boat? What about it? Yeah. Come on. Oh, then wonderful things started to happen.
He says, Can I come on your boat? Can I come into your life? Can I come into your marriage? Can I come into your singleness? Can I come into your lifestyle? Can I come into everything that you say and do? Can I come and rule over you as your Savior and your Lord and your God? He won't force His way in. He waits for you to invite Him.
And so in closing, I ask have you. invited Him into your life? Maybe your little boat is being tossed about on the stormy sea And you can't figure out what to do. And all the while here is the answer. You need Jesus on board your boat. Then you know this. You will never be alone again. You don't have to be afraid. I am not promising you smooth sailing. But I am promising you a safe arrival. Because when Jesus is on board you are good to go. Is He? Is He on board in your life? Is He your Savior? Is He your Lord? Do you have the confidence right now that if you were to die you would go to heaven?
If you don't I would like to give you an opportunity to ask Christ to come into your life. Going back to an early part of this story. The devil was behind the storm because the devil wanted to stop Jesus from reaching His goal. And what was His goal? His goal was to go to the cross and die for the sin of all of the world. To die for your sin and for mine. Satan tried to stop Him. But He failed because nothing, neither hell or high water would stop Jesus from accomplishing that goal of dying for the sin of the world. And He went to that cross and He laid His life down willingly. And then He Rose again from the dead.
And because of His death for us and the purchase of our salvation we can be forgiven of all the wrongs we have ever done if we will put our faith in Him and believe in Him and follow Him. And if you have not done that yet I would like to give you an opportunity to do it as we close in prayer.
So ask yourself the question. Do I know God in a personal way? Is my sin forgiven? Is Jesus the captain of my boat? And if I were to die would I go to heaven? You know maybe you have had smooth sailing so far in life. But buddy if you do not know Jesus you are going to have a crash landing. You do not want that. You want to have a safe arrival. And that will only happen when you put your faith in Him.
So we are going to pray and I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God. Let us all bow our heads if you would.
Father thank You for Your Word to us now. Thank You for loving us so much. You sent Your Son Jesus to die on the cross and our place. Lord Jesus thank You for coming and shedding Your blood and laying Your life down and now offering us Your forgiveness if we will turn from our sin and believe in You. Help people that do not know You yet Lord to come to You now and find Your forgiveness.
Now when our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying how many of you would say right now I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. I want this void of my life I have tried to fill with the things this world offers to be filled. I want my guilt to be taken away. I am ready to say yes to Jesus Christ.
If that is your desire. If you want Christ to come into your life. If you want Him to forgive you of your sin. If you want to go to heaven when you die. Would you raise your hand up right now wherever you are sitting and let me pray for you. Just lift your hand up and I will pray for you right now. God bless you. Lift your hand up. You want Christ to come into your life. You want Him to forgive you. God bless you. God bless you. Lift your hand up where I can see it please. God bless you. And God bless you as well. Anybody else there in the back. God bless God bless you. Even if I can't see you, lift your hand up if you want Jesus to come into your life. Let me pray for you now.
One final moment. God bless you there in the back. God bless you. Maybe some of you have been like a prodigal son or daughter. Sort of like Jonah running from God. But you want to come back to Him again. Would you raise your hand up? Let me pray for you. You want to return to the Lord. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand. I will pray for you now. God bless you.
Now I am going to ask every one of you if you would please that have raised your hands if you would stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a simple prayer of asking Christ to come into your life to be the captain of your boat. Just stand to your feet. If you raised your hand even if you did not. But you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. Stand up wherever you are. And we are going to pray together. That is right. Just stand up. Others are standing. You won't be the only one. Stand Stand up. And we are going to pray together. Go ahead. Stand up. And we are going to have a prayer together. You want His forgiveness. You want to know and follow Jesus. Stand to your feet. Anybody else? Stand now. God bless you. Stand up right where you are sitting. Right there. Stand up. And I will lead you in this prayer.
Alright. You that are standing. You that want Christ to come into your life. Pray this prayer out loud after me right where you are. And He will hear your prayer just as He heard His disciples' prayer out on that stormy sea. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray this now.
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But You died on the cross for my sin. And shed Your blood for every wrong I have done. I turn from that sin. I choose to follow You now. As my Savior and Lord. As my God and my friend. Thank You for loving me and calling me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.