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weekly sermon
5-10-09 Weathering Life's Storms
In the past few weeks we have discussed how the economy has affected many of our lives and how with all the events taking place, we are truly living in the last days. The affects that some of us have recently encountered have rocked some folks faith, or created storms in their lives that have altered many folks beliefs or ways of living for God.
There just happens to be a little story I want us to look at that may help us look at what we can do to help us weather the storms of life. At the start of this story, Jesus has healed a leper, healed a Centurion servant, healed Peter's mother-in-law, cast out demons, and healed many. Jesus had performed these miracles in the presence of a great multitude of people. I tell you this so that you will understand the position Jesus was in at the time of this story. Walking, talking, healing, and casting out demons from such a great multitude is, not only very miraculous, but also very tiring and stressful. At one point, Jesus needed to have some time to rest and refresh, not only His soul, but His physical body. This is where we begin our part of the story.
Turn with me to Matthew 8:18-27, "Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. (19)And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. (20)And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay [his] head. (21)And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. (22)But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. (23)And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. (24)And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. (25)And his disciples came to [him], and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. (26)And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. (27)But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! "
We see here that Jesus had just dealt with the great multitude and they were all gathered around Him because of the great miracles He had performed. If we look at this in modern day, Jesus' popularity would be like a popular performer in the fact that anywhere Jesus went, He had great crowds of people all over Him, just as a performer of today might have constantly around them. The greatest concern a modern day star has is not being able to get time alone because of the popularity. Jesus stated here the very same concern, that even the foxes had holes, the birds had nests, but the Son of man did not have a place He could lay His head to rest. In order to try to get some rest, Jesus told the disciples to take Him to the other side of the water. Jesus also knew that during this trip across the water, He would be able to lay down and get some rest.
After some time of being on the water, it says there rose a "great tempest". The Greek word that tempest was translated from is "seismos", meaning earthquake. This word for earthquake used here differs from the Greek "lialaps" which means storm. We are to know that the ship was caught up in a great "storm", but the magnitude of the storm was so severe that it was classified as an earthquake. We can also see how severe the storm was by the next line. It states that the storm was so great that the ship was covered with waves. During this great storm, that covered the whole ship, Jesus was sleeping. The disciples woke Jesus, because they were afraid, and asked Him to save them, because they were afraid they were about to die. Jesus asked the disciples where their faith was, rebuked the storm, and there was a great calm.
You may be saying, ok, what does this have to do with us? Well let us put ourselves in this scenario. We are a ship that is traveling upon the sea of life. We take certain paths, we stop at various ports, and have many trials and tribulations as we travel this sea of life. Every once in a while, while we our on one of our journeys, we will encounter a storm, one so great we have no clue how we will ever come through the storm. These hard economic times could be classified to some as just a storm. Many are having very hard times surviving the economic struggles placed before them, so to them it is a storm of very great magnitude.
I have talked on this subject in the past and how the disciples were scared of the storm and of their little faith that they would survive it. I want to, now, bring a part of that message into this one. If you were on a ship that was being tossed around by severe waves there is good reason why you would be scared to death, but, if you were actually riding on this same ship with God Almighty, in the flesh, why would you have any reason to have to worry? We are talking about riding this ship with the ONE that created everything that is created and is under His authority. If you have knowledge of information, then you KNOW that since everything is under His authority, He can command it to do something and it HAS to do it. The disciples would have no reason to have to fear the storm because they would have to know that Jesus could bring them through anything they might encounter.
This is where we come in. We are merely disciples, riding through storms of life. One of the passengers that should be riding with us is, Jesus Christ. If we have Jesus with us at all times, there is no reason why we would have to worry about any storm, no matter the severity.
Jesus, as it states in another disciples record, turned and asked, sternly, "why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith"? These are men that had followed Jesus throughout the land while He was performing all the miracles He had performed. They knew the power of God was with Jesus and there was nothing that He could not do. All I am saying is, the disciples knew Jesus very well and what all He was capable of, yet they feared the storm. Jesus also knew the disciples knew of His powers and could not understand why they would have doubts now. We should be in the same position as the disciples. We have Jesus with us always so why would there be any reason we would have to fear any storm we may encounter? Let us remember our faith, where it lies, and what it can do. If we keep our faith in Christ with us always, we have no need to have fear or worry because He will bring us through.
Lastly notice how the disciples marvelled at how the sea calmed on Jesus' command, wondering what manner of man He was, that the winds and sea obeyed Him. This was Satan messing with the disciples minds, since they already knew of Jesus powers and what He was able to do. This happens so often in our own lives. Satan will come in and plant seeds of doubt in our minds, trying to make us think of things of the past, before we had Christ with us, and how they turned out. When our mind thinks on the things that did not turn out as we had wanted in the past, Satan wants us to believe that it will also turn out bad, as it did before. Remember now that you have on the mind of Christ and that you have been given all the same powers that Christ was given, John 14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." This shows you that you have been told by Christ to go and do the works He did and even do greater works. If we understand this, we know that no matter the storm that comes to us, we can keep our faith strong, and rebuke the storm, and land safely on the other side.
Keep your faith, perform the works Christ performed, and land safely on the other side of life. The only sea we should be concerned about using our faith, is the sea that spans between us and Heaven. If you do not now about the faith that will lead you to the life on this other side of the vast sea leading to Heaven, all you have to do is accept Christ and keep Him with you always. To accept the saving grace of Jesus Christ, all you have to do is say a simple prayer with me.
Say this simple prayer with me, Dear Lord, I want you to be the Lord over my life, forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.
If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.
With Love in Christ, Pastor Stone
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