Greg Laurie - Hope for Those Facing Crisis (12/23/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares a comforting message called "Hope for Those Facing Crisis," drawing from Matthew 8:23-27 where Jesus calms a terrifying storm on the sea while His disciples fear for their lives. He explains that crises strike everyone—no one is exempt—and though we may ask "why," the real focus should be "what now": cry out to Jesus, trust His presence, and know that God uses hardship to build endurance, humility, compassion, and eternal hope. The sermon ends with the assurance that Jesus either stops the storm or walks through it with us, leading to an invitation for salvation and recommitment.
When Crisis Strikes Without Warning
Today, the title of the message is "Hope for Those Facing Crisis." How many of you are facing crisis right now? Raise up your hand. Okay, quite a few of you. And for those of you that didn't raise your hand, it will come in time. So hopefully this will be something that will prepare you.
So let's turn in our Bibles to Matthew chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8. So, it's a day like any other day. You get up out of bed. You take a shower. You brush your teeth. You have your breakfast. You read your Bible. You pray. You commit your day to the Lord. And then it happens.
A call from a police officer or a friend telling you there has been an accident. A call from a doctor telling you that you need to come in immediately because of something he found and the tests he did on you. A note on the counter from your spouse saying they are done with the marriage. A new pain in your body that you have never noticed before. The list goes on.
Crisis. It hits hard. It hits fast. And it takes no prisoners. Pain has knocked at your front door and has moved in without your permission. And it refuses to leave.
This crisis is so epic that you are now going to look back on it as a dividing point of your life. You are going to remember your life before and after this crisis. You would not wish what is happening to you on your worst enemy. But it is a reality in your life.
For Job it was when his world came crashing down on him in one day. For Joseph it was a betrayal of his brothers that changed the course of his life. For Jesus it was the religious leaders and one of his own handpicked disciples that turned on him. For you it might be something else.
It could be compared to a mighty and unexpected storm that has overtaken your little boat. And you are wondering, "Am I going to survive this? Am I going to get through this? Is there any hope for me?"
Reading the Scripture – Matthew 8:23-27
Well let's read a passage together now. Matthew chapter 8 verses 23-27. A familiar story of Jesus and his disciples in one of the many storms they encountered. Starting in verse 23 of Matthew 8.
"Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. And His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We are perishing!'"
"And He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?' 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 pray together. Father, as we look in your word now we pray that we will find hopeful encouragement. And get perspective on the challenges and pressures of life. So speak to us from your word we would ask in Jesus name. Amen.
Oh by the way, hello to Harvest Orange County. I have not forgotten you. But good morning to all of you as well.
Okay so what can we learn from this story? Here are a few points.
Point 1: Storms Will Come – No One Is Exempt
Number one, storms will come into our lives. And I am using the metaphor of a storm for a crisis, a tragedy, a hardship, bad news in general. Storms will come.
Now by the way this was a serious storm that these disciples were facing. In the original language the word that is used for storm is also used to be translated as an earthquake. So this was a mega storm covering the boat so you could not even see your craft any longer.
Mark's Gospel tells us the waves were breaking over the boat so much so that the boat was already filling up. The Amplified translation of that verse says, "A whirlwind revolving from below upwards swept down on the lake and the boat was filling with water. And they were in great danger."
Now understand, a lot of the disciples of Jesus were seasoned sailors. So storms were not new to them. They were more like the guys on that TV show, The Deadliest Catch. You know? I mean when you look at the kind of waters those guys get into, I would be crying for mommy. Okay? But that is just another day fishing for them.
So these guys were not weak in any way. This was a seriously dangerous storm. And so they are crying out.
So when a storm comes into our life, when a crisis comes, here is the first thing we usually ask. "Why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this?"
Now understand at the outset there are no real answers to questions like this. It is very unlikely we will ever have the answers to the whys of life until we get to heaven. So instead of spending too much time on why, though I will deal with it a little bit, let's talk instead more about the what. As in "what am I supposed to do now that crisis has hit."
And listen. My objective is to bring hope to you. To say if you are in a situation that seems bleak there is always hope and I don't want you to give up. In fact the very hardship you are going through right now may turn out to be one of the greatest blessings of your life.
Christians Are Not Exempt from Hardship
But somehow in our minds we may believe as Christians that we are exempt from suffering. We just won't have tragedy befall us. We won't get cancer. We won't have spouses ever leave us. We won't ever have anyone we love die in any kind of an accident. We won't have problems with our kids, etc.
Well if that is the way you think it is time for your wake up call. Because I don't care how much you love the Lord. Crisis is going to come into your life. You cannot control these things.
Ironically I have had people say to me after our son went to be with the Lord, "Why has this happened to you of all people?" And I find that to be a curious question. Oh I get a free pass because I am a preacher? Hey I live in the same fallen world that you live in.
And the Bible says that the rain falls upon the just and the unjust. However I do think it is really important to not make the mistake of trying to always find cause and effect for everything that happens.
In other words sometimes if something bad happens we will say, "Well they were evil and because they were sinful this came in their life." Yeah that may be true. But listen to this. Sometimes bad stuff just happens. And there is no cause and effect at all. Because sin is in the world. And because sin is in the world we have aging and we have sickness and we have disabilities and even death. Those things were never part of God's original plan.
Bad Things Happen – Leave the "Why" to God
On one occasion the disciples of Jesus brought up the topic of a tower that had fallen on a group of Gentiles. And the rhetorical question was asked "Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem?" So the idea was hey everybody knows about that tower that fell on the Gentiles. Now understand Gentiles were like non-Jews, non-believers, pagans. So yeah everybody knows about the tower that fell on those non-believers. And obviously the reason it fell on them is because well they were non-believers.
And then Jesus went on to say "Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No I tell you that unless you repent you will also perish." Here is what Jesus is saying. "Don't you say that happened because they were sinners. Do you think they were the worst sinners? News flash. Unless you repent you will perish."
So here is what I think the Lord was saying. Bad things happen inexplicably. So let's just understand that. And to the point sometimes bad things happen not because we are godless but because we are godly.
Take the case of Job. What did Job do wrong? When you read the first chapter of his book it just talks about what a wonderful man of God he was. How he prayed for his family. How he cared about them. This guy was so right on that God was bragging on him in heaven saying to the angels, Satan among them, "Have you considered my servant Job a perfect and upright man, one that fears God and shuns evil."
So let's just leave those things in the hands of God. We don't know the whys. But we know this. God has a plan.
Randy Alcorn wrote, "If we come to see the purpose of the universe as God's long term glory rather than our short term happiness, then we will undergo a critical paradigm shift in tackling the problem of evil and suffering." He continues on. "Life could be summed up in this way. The world has gone terribly wrong. God is going to fix it. First for His eternal glory. Second for our eternal good." It is so well written.
So here is what Randy is suggesting. He is saying, "Look, if we can see the big picture that the purpose of the universe is God's glory not our happiness." See, we tend to think of the world as revolving around us. We are the star of our own film, aren't we? We are the featured character in our own novel. And then this happened to me. And that happened to me. Chapter two. And then you know. And on we go through life. And so when something happens, "Why is this happening to me? What about me?"
Wait a second. The bigger picture is ultimately God's glory. Not my personal happiness. And the fact of the matter is, is through hardship my hope will grow.
Now that almost sounds contradictory. Like the best hothouse for hope, as it were, would be a trouble free life with no threat, with no storms. Everything would just be nice and tidy and clean. No. The best place for hope to grow, believe it or not, is actually in adversity.
Romans 5 says, "Because of our faith God has brought us into a place of undeserved privilege. And it is through our problems and trials that we develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character. And strength of character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. Because we know how dearly God loves us. Because He has given us His Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love."
Wait a second. Did Paul just, in the same paragraph, use the word trials, problems? And then did he just say, "God loves us?" Exactly.
But wait. If God loved me, wouldn't He remove the trials and the problems? Maybe He might. And maybe He won't. That is up to God. According to what needs to happen in your life.
Jesus Resting Confidently – Even in Chaos
We already reflected on the story of Lazarus who was ill. He was a personal friend of Jesus. So Mary and Martha, His sister, sent word to Christ, "The one that you love is sick." And then when Jesus heard this news He intentionally delayed His trip. So by the time He had got to Bethany, Lazarus was dead.
But yet it is interesting. It says when Jesus heard these things because He loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus He waited. He waited because He wanted to do something even greater than what they wanted. They wanted a healing. He wanted a resurrection.
So coming back to our story. Here are the disciples in this radical storm fearing for their very lives. Yet despite this condition, these overhead waves, Jesus was sound asleep.
Now I have seen a boat very similar to the boat these guys would have been in. You go to Israel today. There is a little museum that houses what they call the Jesus Boat. And this is a boat that was recently found that is like the kind of boat these fishermen would have had. No one knows if it is the boat. But it is certainly like the boat.
And this is not a sophisticated craft. This is not a big cruise ship or something like that. This is just a very simple little boat. And Jesus manages to go to sleep underneath the top deck there. It wasn't a very big area. It would have been wet and cold. But yet He is exhausted after a hard day of ministry.
And I wonder if you have ever felt like Jesus was asleep when you were calling on Him. "Hey Lord where are you? Are you paying attention?"
Well in a technical sense Jesus was asleep. But in a broader sense God never sleeps. Because we are told in Psalm 121:4, "He that watches over Israel neither tires and He never sleeps."
See Jesus was asleep because He was resting confidently in the will of His Father. And that is what the disciples should have done too. He told them they would be fine. In fact in Mark's version of the same story He said "Let's cross over to the other side." And that meant that they were going to cross over to the other side. He didn't promise them an easy trip. But He promised them a safe arrival.
And so they could have rested in that. But instead they are freaking out. They are panicking. They are trying to wake Him up.
Point 2: Cry Out to Jesus – He Hears You
But that brings us to a point. We need to cry out to Jesus in the midst of our storms. We need to cry out to Jesus in the midst of our storms.
Verse 25. They say, "Lord save us." Though the shrieking of the storm did not wake Him, the cry of His people did. The moment His children cried out He responded immediately and powerfully.
People will often do that in times of crisis. As they say there are no atheists in foxholes. I am sure there are some. But usually in a time of great difficulty where your life is in danger most people will call out to God.
The story is told of a hardened old sea captain that was very vocal about his atheism. And one night during a radical storm he was washed overboard. And his men actually heard him crying out to God for help. So they finally rescued him. And the men asked him, "Didn't you say you didn't believe in God?" And the old guy said, "Well if there isn't a God there ought to be at times like this."
As C.S. Lewis said, "Even atheists have their moments of doubt." And so even the nonbeliever can cry out to God. But these are the Lord's own followers crying out to Him.
And the Lord will often let us hit bottom so we will see our need for Him. Thomas Watson said, "When God lays men on their backs and they look up to Heaven."
And by the way we should never think of prayer as a last resort. But instead make it our first resort. That is right.
Look if you are ill by all means. I don't have a problem with you going to the doctor. If you have a situation. There is nothing wrong with calling the police. You want to take the practical steps. But the first thing you should do is pray. "Lord help. Lord intervene. Lord show me what to do. Lord give me wisdom."
Sometimes people will do everything they can do to fix their situation. And nothing has worked. And they say, "Well all we can do now is just go pray." Oh poor little you. All you can do now is call on the Almighty God. The Creator of the heavens and the earth.
Cry out to the Lord. If you are ill ask God for His healing touch. I don't care what the doctors have said. I don't care if there is only a ten percent chance of survival. You are talking to God. And you can reach out to Him.
You remember that woman that had that medical condition in the scriptures. And she had spent all of her money on doctors. Probably quack doctors. Trying to resolve it. Nothing worked. And she reads, "And if I can just touch the hem of His garment I will be healed." And when Jesus passed by with as much faith as she could muster she touched His garment. And immediately she was healed.
You cry out to the Lord. You call out to the Lord. And trust in the Lord. And remember this. God is still in the miracle business. Whatever your situation is.
And if you know someone who is ill. Let's take a case in point. Someone you know got cancer. They need hope. I've actually witnessed this recently. And I was flabbergasted by it. Someone revealed that they had cancer. And someone else said to them, "Oh yeah my uncle died of that same cancer." I wanted to smack the person. I mean what could be more heartless than that? This person needs hope you see.
Now I think a person who has cancer knows they could die of it. You don't have to remind them of that. But on the other hand, has anyone who has gotten cancer ever been healed of it? Or have they ever had a surgery that removed it? Of course. Lots of people.
So let's emphasize that in the interim. Let's not be a comforter who torments a person. Better to say nothing than to say something like that. Be praying for those people. And tell them that you will keep praying for them.
So they call on Jesus. And He comes up on deck. And He stops the storm in its tracks. Verse 26. He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.
See when we call out to the Lord He is moved by that. And He is ready to intervene. So don't feel bad about calling on the Lord.
Point 3: God Has Purposes in Every Storm
Then we can also point out that God has His purposes in the storms of life. God has His purposes in the storms of life.
Remember that God is in control. And He has a plan. It has been said the hammer shatters glass. But it forges steel. So we look to the Lord. Because we recognize that through these hardships He can accomplish great things.
Why? Because God knows all things. In the past, the present, and the future. And God is uniquely qualified to know when to ordain or permit evil and suffering and when not to.
Let me say that again. God knows all things. In the past, in the present, and the future. Therefore God and God alone is uniquely qualified to know when to ordain or permit evil and suffering and when not to.
So if the Lord allows it in your life. Or even brings it into your life. He has a plan in mind for it.
Now we love to follow the Lord when things are going the way we want them to go. I was with my grandchildren the other day and that is why maybe I still have some glitter on me because they are all girls. And so I was in a world of pink and all that.
So we were playing some game and "let's play this." Oh they are all excited jumping up and down. "Let's play this." Well we get the toy out and we are playing it. And then they move from that to another toy. Then from that to another toy. Now it looks like a whirlwind is whipped through the room.
And so then I said "now it is time to clean up." And all of a sudden they weren't happy anymore. "I always have to clean up" said one. "Yeah I do too" said the other. I said "no. Come on now. We took it out to play with it. Let's put it away." And they were not happy.
And in the same way the Lord says okay come on and we are going to do this. And I am going to open this door. And then this is going to happen. "Oh good Lord I love following you. This is so great."
Okay now we are going to go through this little rough patch. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. I don't want to go through there."
It is like Psalm 23. One of the greatest scriptures in all of the Bible. "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. You set a table before me in the presence of my enemies. My cup runneth over." Man life is good.
But then he says "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me." We love those green pastures. And we love those still waters. But we are not really excited about a valley. Especially when shadow of death is written over it.
But he is with us in those times as well. That is what it is to follow the Lord.
Why God Allows Adversity – Key Reasons
But here is some reasons why God allows adversity in our lives.
Number one, adversity levels us and keeps us humble. It levels us and keeps us humble.
You see prosperity has a tendency to make people proud and self sufficient. You don't think you need God when you have your salary or your investments or your career or your homes and your health and your families. But when an economy goes south or a stock market crashes or a home burns to the ground or your health fails then you turn to God and you are reminded of what really matters.
God gave to Israel a warning as they entered into the promised land. See they had gone through forty years of wilderness wanderings where they were literally dependent upon God for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every day the Lord would bring manna to be waiting for them outside of their tents.
But now they are poised to enter into the land flowing with milk and honey. The land of abundance. And the Lord gave them this warning. He said now as you enter into this land. He said "I want you to remember to not forget the Lord. After you have eaten and you are full do not forget the Lord."
And that is what can sometimes happen. When you have a lot you forget the Lord. You take it for granted.
Now don't misunderstand what I am saying. Because I don't want to paint some bleak picture to you. You know life is misery and hard and difficult. No. Hey if you are in a time right now where you are in the green pastures. You are in the still waters. Life is going reasonably well. Doors are opening up. Fantastic. Here is what I would say to you. "Don't forget the Lord. Give Him glory."
But if the bottom drops out and you get bad news I would say to you again. "Don't forget the Lord." Then you turn to Him and call on Him and ask Him for His help.
But yes. Adversity levels us and keeps us humble.
Also adversity teaches us eternal truths we would not otherwise learn. We learn truths in adversity we would not otherwise learn.
You know generally in life we want to avoid pain. We want to be comfortable. Right. I mean pain free dentistry. That is appealing right. Would you go to a dentist that says "extra pain dentistry. We pull first then ask questions later." No. I don't want it to hurt.
If you say "I need a root canal" I want it to be pain free if possible. And we apply that to life. We are looking for that workout that doesn't require us to well work out. Because we want to keep eating that sandwich that Paula Deen gave us that is what was it an egg and bacon or something with glazed doughnuts. No. It is not bad enough. Instead of bread we have glazed doughnuts. Wow. Unbelievable.
So we want to keep eating like that and lose weight. We want the pounds to just melt off. So I don't want to go to a gym or a health club or something like that. I want to just take some little pill.
Well I am sorry. "No pain no gain." Okay. And that is true of life too. No pain no gain.
Pain comes in our life and it has its purpose. Pain reminds us of a deeper need. Our need for God.
See just like a hunger pain reminds us that it is time to eat. You can set the clock by my stomach. I am hungry first thing in the morning. I get up early. I get up around 5.30. And so I am eating breakfast before six. So by ten o'clock I am fully hungry for lunch. And now it becomes wait another hour and a half. And the stomach is saying "feed me. Feed me." You know.
So it is not pain but it is a reminder I need food eventually. And pain reminds us that we need God.
In his book The Problem of Pain C. S. Lewis writes, "Pain removes the veil. It plants a flag of truth within the fortress of a rubble soul."
So God uses pain. And listen to this. Randy Alcorn writes, "If your faith is based on a lack of affliction, it is on the brink of extinction. It is only a frightening diagnosis or a shattering phone call away from collapse. Token faith will not survive suffering, nor should it."
What a great statement. Especially if your faith is based on a lack of affliction. It is on the brink of extinction.
Listen. "The faith that cannot be tested is the faith that cannot be trusted." God wants you to toughen up and grow to be a man or a woman of God. You can't be a baby in diapers for the rest of your life. So this is what adversity does.
Another thing adversity does is it gives us a new compassion for others who are in pain. Adversity gives us a new compassion for others that are in pain.
We live in a world of pain and hurt. And God comforts us so we can in turn comfort others. 2 Corinthians 1 says, "He comforts us in all of our troubles so we can comfort others when they are in trouble. We will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ."
You know, when you have come through something you want to help someone else. Let's say that you had cancer. And let's say that you chose a course of treatment and you have been cancer free now for five years. Thank God.
And then you just found out that a friend or a family member got cancer or maybe someone you don't even know. What do you usually want to do? You want to encourage them.
You will go to that person and say, "Listen, I have been through this." You are not going to say, "I know someone that died of what you have." But instead you are going to say, "Listen, I have come through this. Here is what I did. Let me pray for you. Let me encourage you."
See, you comfort with the same comfort that you have been comforted with.
I found myself walking into a lot of situations I previously would have walked away from at another time in my life. When I hear someone has lost a child, many people I didn't even know I have made contact with. I have talked with them. I have prayed with them.
It is not like I have any profound words for them. But I have a general understanding of what they are going through. And I want to just say to them, "As hard as it is to believe in this moment, you are going to get through this. And God is going to be with you." And I just want to point them back to the Lord.
Now don't think that is some big sacrifice. Actually it helps me. Because I don't want to waste my pain. It is there. So I want to use it as a tool to help other people.
I remember years ago we had Lieutenant Colonel Brian Birdwell here. And he was in the Pentagon that was hit on 9-11. Very little is said about those that died in the Pentagon. But he was there working. And he was burned severely over most of his body. But he survived after many, many skin graft operations which are incredibly painful.
And he is a strong Christian. And I interviewed him. And he told us his story. And he had an unexpectedly amazing sense of humor through all of this. And just was a delightful guy to hang around.
And after church, the Sunday I interviewed him. I said, "Hey Brian, why don't we go get some lunch?" He said, "I would love to, but I can. I have a commitment." And I said, "Really?" He goes, "Yeah, I have to go visit some people."
He goes, "I was surprised he knew anybody in Riverside because he is not from this area." He said, "Well I already made a commitment to go to the local burn unit." And I said, "Really? What do you do there?"
He says, "Well I go and visit burn victims and tell them there is hope." And he says, "I do that wherever I go."
And I thought, "There you go." You know, you comfort with the comfort you have been comforted with. So God can use it as a tool in your life.
You know, suffering is often a wake up call to us to see the world suffering. We have a greater sensitivity to it. Again to quote C.S. Lewis. He said after his wife had died, "If I really cared as I thought I did about the sorrows of the world, I should not have been so overwhelmed when my own sorrow came."
So sometimes when it happens to you, you have a new compassion for those that it is happening to.
Adversity prepares us for what God has ahead. Adversity prepares us for what God has ahead.
Everything we go through is preparation for something else in life. God is changing you and getting you ready for something ahead.
But here is what you need to remember. Your troubles are not going to last forever. 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 right now. Rather look at what you cannot yet see. For your troubles will soon be over. But the joys to come will last forever.
God's people will be better off eternally because they suffer temporarily. Let me say that again. God's people will be better off eternally because they suffered temporarily.
The trade off in eternity will bear this out. The argument for the greater good may be the strongest biblical case for the whys of human suffering. But it requires great trust on our part.
Meaning that I look at my suffering and I say, "it is going to all make sense in eternity. And it is going to produce something in eternity that would have not been there otherwise."
So in faith I am going to accept this truth and wait to see the outcome. So that is the way it works.
God Brings Good Even from the Worst
Then also there is a God who despite the worst tragedy can bring good out of bad. Now that does not mean that He makes bad things good. But it means that despite bad things He can bring good. That is an important distinction.
Because a lot of times people are looking for cause and effect. In other words you are trying to connect the dots. Okay this bad thing happened, so this good thing would happen. And this even better thing happens. And this super great thing happens. So now I get it.
And you look back over life and you say, "it all makes sense." And you know what? Sometimes life works that way, doesn't it? It certainly did for Joseph. Despite his setbacks. Betrayal by his brothers. He is elevated to the second most powerful position in all of the world.
And he was even able to say to his brothers, "You meant this for evil. But God meant it for good to save many people alive" in Genesis 50:20.
So certainly God can do that. But here is what Romans 8:28 says, "All things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose."
Ultimately all things work together for good. But sometimes you can't see that in this life. Because there are tragedies that will happen that make no sense at all.
And I think we make a big mistake when we always want to find cause and effect. You know, "well this person died. But that was so in the funeral service these three people would come to Christ. So I guess it was all worth it." No. Guess what? God could have reached those three people in the funeral service without that person dying.
So let's look at it a different way. This person died. I am sorry that happened. That is a tragedy in your life. But listen to this. In the service, despite this great tragedy, look how God was glorified. And three people came to Jesus. Isn't that wonderful?
See the difference between those two things? Because if you are always trying to find cause and effect, some things are never going to make sense.
You might say, "I am spending my life in a wheelchair. What is the good in that? When I see people running around." You know, "I spend my life using a ventilator to breathe. What is the good in that? When other people take their ability to breathe for granted." Hey, "I am facing this problem right now. And other people aren't. What is the good? I don't see the good. I don't get it."
So don't try to find cause and effect. Just say, "This is what has happened. But God is in control. God loves me. And despite this bad thing, good things are going to take place in my life for the glory of God." Some will be realized in this life. Some in the next.
What could have been a worse case scenario than the crucifixion of Jesus? The Lord was betrayed by one of His own disciples. Then He was whipped by Pontius Pilate. Then He was sent with His cross to be crucified on it. And there He died. Nothing could have been more painful for His followers who had left everything to follow Him.
But then He rose again from the dead. And then they understood what the new covenant was all about. Out of the worst thing came the greatest good. That is why we call it Good Friday.
So your crisis, tragedy, or heartache will ultimately work together for good. Either here or in eternity.
You know sometimes people use the expression, "It is all good man." Hey dude, "it is all good." Well you know in a broad sense that is actually correct theologically. It is all good. If you are a Christian. Either in this life or in the life to come.
Shakespeare said, "All the world is a stage. And all the men and women merely players." Well if that is true then God writes a script and has decided what will happen to who.
When you go to a movie, the ones you remember are the ones that have conflict. That is overcome. Right? I mean if you go to a movie and it starts happy. And the middle is happy. And the end is happy. You are bored. Where is the conflict? Where is the bad guy? Where is the adversity that someone has to overcome so Rocky will be, you know, punching, hanging meat, and running upstairs, and the theme song. You know we are waiting for that. Because that makes an exciting movie.
Okay well that is a movie. Now let's talk about life. Conflict comes in life. And God is in charge of these things. God does not use conflict to make the story better, but to make us better.
If you have lived a conflict free life, I would imagine you are probably a soft, spoiled, selfish person. But if you have gone through adversity, I am sure you are stronger, more capable, and hopefully more caring.
Randy Alcorn in his book, If God is Good, writes, "Talk to Job in the middle of his story, with ten children dead, and boils covering his body, and his wife telling him to curse God and die, and ask Job if he wants out. He might say what is recorded in his own book, 'Why did I not perish at birth?' But in heaven asked Job, and for that matter, Joseph, the question, 'Was it worth it?' What do you think they would say? If you were to ask them, 'If God gave you the choice, would you have walked out?' They might say in a heartbeat, 'But I am just glad he did not let me.'"
And sometimes God stops the storms, but He will always be with us in it.
Sometimes He Calms the Storm – Always With Us
Sometimes God stops the storms, but He will always be with us in it. So the disciples call on Jesus. He comes up on deck. "Peace be still." And immediately the storm ceases, and the water is calm again.
He does that sometimes. So you have your problem. Oh, crazy financial need. "God help." Boom. Check arrives. Inexplicably. "Oh, we owed you some money," the government writes. This is a miracle. You know, you paid too much in taxes, and here is a check that happens to be in the exact amount of what you just needed.
Or wait. The answer comes in this other way. Or in another... You know, God answers your prayer. And you say, "Lord, thank you."
And then sometimes He answers your prayer differently than you wanted Him to. He doesn't stop the storm. He doesn't take away the problem. He doesn't heal the illness. But He walks with you through it.
So in this case, Jesus stopped it. But in other situations, He walks with us through our problems. It is then that we must trust Him.
Again He said, "Let's go to the other side." God will be with you in your storm.
Psalm 46 says, "God is our refuge and our strength, an ever present help in time of trouble. So we won't fear. Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake where they are surging."
God will walk with you through it. Isaiah 43 says, God speaking, "When you go through deep waters and great troubles, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned."
Let's get over to the other side. That is what Jesus said. And one day we are going to get to the other side. And I don't just mean the other side of the lake. Or even the other side of our problem. I mean you are going to get to the other side. I am talking about heaven.
I am going to do a whole message called "The Hope of Heaven" in this series. So, look, storms will come and go. Problems will come and go. And check this out. Life on earth will come and go. But then there is life that continues on in eternity, in heaven if you put your faith in Christ.
So here is my question to you. What would you rather have? A nice easy flight and a crash landing or a bumpy flight and a soft landing? Maybe your life is filled with a lot of turbulence. But better to have turbulence and land safe than to have an easy flight and crash.
Listen to this. Life on earth is as good as it is ever going to get for a nonbeliever and life on earth for the believer is as bad as it will ever get.
So if you are a Christian. This is as bad as it will ever be. Take the worst time of your life. It is as bad as it will ever be.
Listen to this. If you are a non-Christian this is as good as it is ever going to get. Because the Bible says the judgment is coming.
So that is the hope we have that one day we will get to the other side.
Communion – Remembering the Greatest Good from the Worst
So now we come to the communion table. And let me come back to an earlier point that I raised. The greatest good for all mankind came as a result of the death of Jesus.
Again nothing could have been more bleak or unpromising than for the disciples to see their Lord. A beaten and bloodied and put to death on a Roman cross. There is not a more painful way a man could die. I still don't know if they have devised a more painful way for a person to die than crucifixion. It is about as bad as it can get.
But there Jesus died. But then Jesus rose. And then they understood why it all happened. So from this bad thing came a good thing.
And here is what Jesus said. "I want you to remember what I did for you. I don't want you to forget." So He instituted what we call communion or the Lord's Supper.
And in the upper room with His disciples He took some bread that was unleavened and He broke it. He said, "Take and eat. This is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me."
And after they had eaten He took the cup and gave it to them. "This is the new covenant."
So these are important symbols. Now this time that we are about to have together when we come to the communion table is for Christians only. This is not for a non-believer. Because the Bible tells us that when we come to this table we are to examine ourselves.
So in effect we do a little spiritual self-examine. The first question I ask myself is, "Am I a true believer? Do I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I am a Christian?"
Because if I don't know that, then I shouldn't receive communion. Why? Because the Bible says if you receive these elements, if you partake of it without believing in the one they represent, you actually will eat and drink judgment to yourself.
So it is actually counterproductive spiritually to receive communion. The only way to receive it is as a follower of Jesus. You don't have to be perfect. We come as forgiven sinners. But at the same time we come realizing our need for Christ.
So I would like to give you an opportunity to get right with God. And if you need to ask Christ to come into your life or if you need to make a recommitment to Him, why don't you do that as we pray now before we receive communion together.
So let's all bow our heads and pray. Everyone please.
Father thank You for Your Word to us today. Thank You for the hope of Scripture. And thank You for the promise that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us.
But now we pray for some who have joined us who may not know You yet. They have not yet put their faith in You. They don't know with certainty that they will go to heaven when they die. We have talked about crossing over to the other side. They don't have that hope that they will see You one day, but they need that hope.
Help them to come to You and believe and be forgiven today.
When our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying, if you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you would like Him to forgive you of your sin, if you would like to know with certainty that you will go to heaven when you die, or if you have fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to Him today, I am going to ask you wherever you are to just stand to your feet and I am going to lead you in a prayer.
Again, just stand to your feet and I am going to lead you in a prayer if you want Christ to come into your life. God bless you. God bless you standing. You want to go to heaven when you die. You want to have this hope we've been talking about today. Or you've fallen away from the Lord. You want to come back to Him again. Stand to your feet wherever you are.
God bless you. Others are standing so I hope you are one of them if you need to stand. There at Harvest Orange County you can stand to your feet as well. Just stand up and I'm going to lead you in a prayer of commitment.
God bless you. Anybody else? In the overflow area, outside in the amphitheater, up in the court building, stand to your feet. Harvest Orange County, stand up. Here in the sanctuary, stand up now. Anybody else?
God bless you. Anybody else want to stand now? We are going to pray where you ask Christ into your life. One final moment. If you are going to stand, stand now.
God bless you. Anybody else? God bless you guys up on the balcony. God bless all of you.
Now you that are standing, I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. And this is where you are asking Jesus Christ to come into your life. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray this with me now.
"Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, but you died on the cross for my sin and paid the price for the wrongs that I have done. I am sorry for my sin. I turn from it now. I put my faith in you. I choose to follow you Jesus from this moment forward. Thank you for loving me, and calling me, and forgiving me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen."