Jesus and the Storm
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
The Gospel of Mark
This is week 13
Last week we covered some of Jesus’s teachings on the parables
But now we are starting a new section that is going to be highlighting Jesus’s power and authority
Today we’ll see him display authority over creation, in calming a storm
But alongside this miracle—we will see the doubting faith of his disciples
They don’t seem to get who Jesus is still
And the our main focus today is going to be looking at our encounters with storms in our lives
What do we do in the midst of life’s storms?
Do we draw closer to Jesus?
Or do we let doubt and fear take hold of us?
This is a message for all of us:
We are either:
Going through a storm
Coming out of a storm
Or headed into a storm
The storms in life a guaranteed, how are we going to view them
Lets read:
Scripture Reading:
Scripture Reading:
(SLIDES)
35 On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
(SLIDES)
Outline:
God Sends Us Into the Storm
The Peace of God through the Storm
Knowing God in the Midst of the Storm
God Sends Us Into the Storm
God Sends Us Into the Storm
Like I said, we are either:
Going through a storm
Coming out of a storm
Or headed into a storm
Before we get started I want you to take some time to think what category you fall into
And if there is a storm you are currently in the middle of—name it—and keep it at the front of your attention as we talk about these difficult seasons in our lives
Maybe there are multiple storms happening
We read this story and it can be easy to miss that heading into this storm was Jesus’s idea
(SLIDES)
35 On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat.
This life threatening storm doesn’t catch Jesus off guard
And some of these men are fishermen—they are used to the sea—they are familiar with storms
Yet this storm, was too much for them
And I want to get straight to the point for each and every one of us
Every stormy season we come across—does not catch God off guard
That many times… it is actually God’s plan for us to go through storms
It reminds me of one of my favorite psalms
(SLIDES)
1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have what I need.
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He renews my life;
he leads me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
God is our shepherd
He leads us to green pastures and to still waters
But he also leads us ‘along the right paths’
Which include the darkest valley—or the valley of the shadow of death
We imagine that God’s plan for our life is full of ease and comfort
Right? It’s so ingrained in us that if we are following God, doing the right things, abstaining from sin, that things will go well
And that if a trial or hardship comes—our natural instinct—is that it is a punishment or that somehow God is upset with us
And this mindset is not biblical—and extremely destructive to our relationship with God
If we hold onto this—it will cause bitterness and disappointment in God
(SLIDES)
“We have been taught by the great strongholds of our day, whether formed with a structure of secularism or cultural Christianity (or a hybrid of both), that pressure is a bad thing. That it is possible to live life and walk through the raindrops without getting wet.
—Mark Sayers
Sometimes we assume that storms arise because of disobedience, but this isn’t always the case
What if… Following Jesus faithfully—doing the right things—keeping ourselves in the love of God—means that storms will still come into our lives
What if… Jesus isn’t calling us to a life of comfort and ease… but a life of resilient faithfulness in the midst of trials
And we don’t know why—for every trial that comes our way—but we can be confident that just because a storm comes our way—doesn’t mean that we are outside of the will of God
And Satan will use this to attack us
When we face storms—he’ll try and get us to blame ourselves
To condemn ourselves—to beat ourselves up
Look at the story of Job
Storms don’t mean disobedience
The Peace of God Through the Storm
The Peace of God Through the Storm
So now that we’ve talked about the fact that we should accept the fact that storms will come
Let’s see the storm from God’s point of view
(SLIDES)
37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
I always find this story so funny
While the disciples are fearing for their lives in this storm
Jesus is sound asleep
It’s been long days of ministry
Jesus is tired and he needs rest
We see here the true peace that Jesus has
He is so secure—that even a life-threatening storm doesn’t get in the way of his sleep
Imagine the situation
Boat filling
“Don’t you care that we’re going to die?!”
And this is the same Jesus that is with us in our storms
Its not that he is asleep and doesn’t care… but the things we thing are vital and life-threatening aren’t as important as we think
Have you ever been with someone that was panicking over something that isn’t that important in the long run?
But these storms do not cause God to panic and they don’t catch him off guard
And God knows that storms come and they go—no storm lasts forever
He sees the big picture
In stormy seasons Jesus is our anchor
He grounds us to a deeper reality
It goes deeper than just the splashing waves
It keeps us rooted and steadfast
Ex: Time in College
Tumultuous
3 jobs/full-time student/good grades/so much stress
Am I going to try to calm this storm myself?
Or am I going to drop my anchor and ride it out with Jesus?
Another metaphor: The firm foundation for our lives
Two foundations in Matt 7.
(SLIDES)
24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”
Storms don’t necessarily destroy us
But what they do is reveal the strength of our foundation
And its almost as if our whole life we are building something
And storms come and knock part of it away
And each time we rebuild stronger and better on the true foundation
EXPOUND
But again, the house built on the solid-foundation isn’t guaranteed storm-free
Both houses are hit by the storm
But the results are different
Like Jesus and the disciples in this story
Fearing for death
Sleeping soundly
Now that we’ve talked about how we should EXPECT storms
And the peace that God has through these storms
We have to talk about:
Knowing God in the Midst of the Storm
Knowing God in the Midst of the Storm
We see the storm
We see the peace of God
Which will you choose?
(SLIDES)
38 He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
You see for the disciples this was a learning moment
They had an immense awe and reverence for YHWH
And slowly but surely, they are coming to see that Jesus is God in human flesh
This storm had a purpose in their lives
It was revealing who Jesus truly is
They had an idea of who Jesus was but we see here that what they though of Jesus was being challenged
“Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
And our storms can serve a similar purpose
They can challenge what we think about Jesus
And they can give us a greater perspective—if we are looking for it
(SLIDES)
“We need to look at life’s storms not as disasters, but as opportunities to see God’s transforming power at work in our lives”
—Mark Strauss
Storms and trials in our lives are a unique opportunity to experience the deep peace and comfort of God
As Paul writes to the Philippians, ‘peace that surpasses understanding’
And you can’t experience this peace truly, unless there is pressure
Each storm is an opportunity to experience God as a ‘Non-anxious presence’
When people are freaked out—someone who is grounded and not caught up in their distress is a powerful witness
Le - Cop
Jesus in the Boat
And when we come to God with all of the distress, and anxiety, and fear
He doesn’t get caught up in it with us
He remains calm, because he is in control
He knows how the story is going to end
And whatever storms you are going through, or will be going through
You might not have control over the situations
But you do have control over what you are paying attention to
On one hand you have the storm—the circumstances
You can fixate on them, replay the past, try and predict the future
Over-analyzing, like trying to hold water in your hands
On the other hand, you have Jesus—in the boat with you
Relaxed, non-anxious, looking at you with love in his eyes
Inviting you to trust him, this won’t be the end of you
And we’ll be tempted to look away
But the most important thing we can do, is keep our eyes on Jesus
(SLIDES)
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
So storms will come
God remains calm through it all
And we have an opportunity to come to him in these times
As we close, there is one last thing I wanted to talk about
What if the storm does’t miraculously calm like it does in this story?
Conclusion
Conclusion
Right, this story is amazing
Jesus turns a Great Storm into Great Calm
And sometimes I wish it was this easy
Life gets difficult, and all I need to do is cry out to God—and then he calms everything and its all fixed
But unfortunately that doesn’t always happen
Sometimes the storm stays raging
And we begin to doubt whether or not God even cares
but this story doesn’t end with a calmed sea
It ends with a greater fear and reverence for Jesus
The point of the storm was to show who Jesus is
we see this in the life of Paul
His life was weathered by storm after storm
And he knew who Jesus was
Read the story of Paul in Acts 27
He faces a literal storm on his way to Rome that lasts for weeks
Paul no doubt knew the story of Jesus calming the seas
But where was that Jesus now?
The second day of the storm they start throwing cargo overboard
(SLIDES)
20 For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope was fading that we would be saved.
They go 14 days without food with 276 people
They have to throw the rest of their food off of the ship
Then the ship gets wrecked
And the entire crew floats on planks and debris
And everyone safely reached the shore
Sometimes, the storms in life don’t get resolved all nice and neat
Sometimes it results in shipwreck and getting thrown off-course
Listen to the hardships of Paul:
(SLIDES)
24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; 27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. 28 Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches.
We imagine Godly people that are following the will of God to have lives of easy and comfort, but that’s not the case
Paul was one of the most godly people to live—yet he faced trials and sorrows constantly
This man knew suffering
So we can trust his words when he says this:
(SLIDES)
8 We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us. We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again.
And this is it, our main point:
Storms help us to come to the end of ourselves and come to Jesus instead
Paul says it here:
And Paul writes that his trials caused him to no longer trust in himself but in God who raises the dead
When storms come the question that has to get answered is: Where is my trust?
Where is my hope?
What is my anchor in life?
Trials have the benefit of stripping away our false hopes and weak things we trust in—so that we might come to trust God deeper
Again, I don’t know where each of you are
Maybe you’re in the middle of the storm with water coming overboard
Maybe you’re embarking on a new journey just leaving port
Maybe you’re just coming out of a storm and can see the peace on the horizon
But all of us need to keep our eyes on Jesus
He’s in the boat with us
He won’t jump ship and leave us behind
He’s committed to us through thick and thin
And he offers us a deep peace that surpasses understanding
Jesus isn’t immune from the storms
Palm Sunday (worshiped)
Good Friday (crucified)
He’s seen through the worst the storm could do-death
And rose from the dead to bring us new life
Jesus goes through the storms of life and shepherds us through our storms to resurrection life
Reflection Questions
Reflection Questions
(SLIDES)
What storms are you going through? (Or do you see any on the horizon coming your way?)
2. Where do you try and find peace and security apart from Jesus?
