Faith in Storms

Intro

Today, we look at one of the most famous stories in Jesus’s life, the calming of the storm.

Have you ever asked for help in the middle of an actual literal storm? In the middle of a significant storm, you can feel the sure might and power of nature, and we would say you can feel the might and power of God. Have you ever been in a storm that you cried out for God? It’s interesting how this is a common response for us. We cry out to God in threats of nature because we know that only he can save us.

Martin Luther’s story of coming to faith is from the 1500. He was on track to be a successful lawer, and traveling one day, he encountered a thunderstorm. And after being hurled to the ground by a burst of lightening, he cried out for salvation and promised a life of service. And thus began the reformation.

I remember driving through Nebraska once, and saw rain like i had never seen rain before. A rain that with the windshield whipers going at max speed, I could barely see what was in front of me. But I was in a car. I was pretty safe.

Once, I was crossing the english channel between France and Great Brittan, and in that tiny stretch of sea, a storm suddenly came that through this giant ferry boat all around. People were falling over, hitting their heads, falling and the ground, bodily fluids all over the place. But I was in a giant boat that went through these things all the time.

Those two events I had a cover and glass between me and the storm. Have you ever faced a great storm with nothing to protect you from the raw elements? Maybe you were working outside in bad weather? Maybe you were camping and caught in an unexpected storm?

I have been on a lot of chairlifts. Sketchy ones and safe ones. I’ve been stuck on chairlifts, freezing to death while they fix them. I don’t like hights, and I probably grip the bar tighter than most, but I love to snowboard so my fear doesn’t keep me from it. Once, I have been on a chairlift during snow storms that probably should have shut the ski resort down. Where I was high up in the air, attached to a thin cable, swinging at the mercy of a tiny hook keeping me in tact. It’s in those moments that you look up, and see the tiny attachment that is keeping you secure, and you think to yourself, “when was the last time that had a safety inspection? Do they check every single connection point? What if they accidently skipped mine?” It was in that moment of great fear that I would be thrown from the chairlift, that I prayed to God and asked for help to keep me safe.

Storms do not only have to be physical storms though.

Coming out of the Christmas season this week, many of us feel like we have been in the storm of chaos and need some calm.

This story of Jesus calming the storm is famous for many reason. One of the reasons I believe it is so known is because it is quickly practical for our lives. We are able to quickly see the allegory and allusions being made.

We have a lot of storms in our lives, and they have nothing to do with the weather.

But there is deeper meaning for us as well. We think of the internal struggles in our lives. Sometimes our lives need the calm. Where can we turn to? Who will help us?

In the last few sermons, the call to faith and discipleship has been strong, and maybe somewhat harsh.

But I believe in this story, we see the grace and kindness of our Savior in times when we need him most.

You will remember that this is not a random collection of historical things Matthew is remembering, he is carefully crafting a message to compel his readers to action.

This story is not randomly placed in Matthew’s Gospel. It is in line with discipleship and following Jesus. Jesus is showing us what it practically looks like to follow him and be his disciple.

For Jesus’s real disciples, the ones who are his, there is grace. And help. Found in him.

I. Committing to Christ v23

First today, we see committing to Christ. We see this in verse 23.

We saw last week that the ones who follow Christ commit to him with their lives. We saw last week the two who wanted to follow Jesus, but were not entirely committed.

In this story today, verse 23 comes to be a contrast to that. The ones who commit to following Jesus. Not just for the temporary, but for the eternal.

Our story begins with Jesus, and his disciples following.

Christianity is not a blind hope and following something we don’t know, it is a following of Jesus our master.

We know who we follow.

When you sign up to be a dad of a daughter, you also sign up to watch the movie Frozen 12 times...every month. And guess what, there are good themes in the movie about selfless love, putting others needs before our own, sacrifice, belonging.

A far less popular movie is Frozen 2. Why? I don’t think the themes are as powerful. They attempt to draw modern cultural themes of self-discovery instead of selflessness. Internal happiness instead of sacrificial love for another. Why didn’t the second movie do as well? Inherently, within us, we know those themes are not as deep as the themes of the first movie, even if culture is trying to push them on us.

But, the main song in the second movie is far to catchy. “Into the unknown!” And Elsa is on a path to the unknown, following this voice she thinks she hears towards her own self discovery and happiness.

Thankfully for us, the call of Jesus is not a path into the unknown. It is not following an unknowable voice. We follow the savior. Though the life ahead may be unknowable for us, the one we follow is knowable.

We are not on a path to self-discovery. Guess what a path to self-discovery will show us? How broken we are. How in need of help we are. How sinful we are. How in need of someone else to fix us we are.

When we follow Jesus, we are on a path to Christ-discovery. We can understand and know the one who loves us and calls us to joy beyond worldly happiness.

So don’t commit to a path of self-discovery, commit to Jesus and discover the Savior as you follow him.

II. Sleeping in Storms v24

Next, we see sleeping in the storms. We see Jesus showing us this in verse 24.

We see this great storm happening on the sea. And the boat being overtaken by the waves.

This is the sea of Galilee which I believe is the lowest elevation of a body of water. It sits about 700 feet below sea level. And on the north end of the sea, are mountains. And warm water from the arid climate would rush over and down from the mountain, then down to the sea air that was cool, and would create storms. Is this guy a weatherman or a pastor?

But this air would and does still create large storms on the sea of Galilee. Large 9 foot waves would happen regularly, and some say even 20 foot waves in extreme cases.

These are large waves given the size of Jesus’s boat. Remember that these boats are small, holding less than 20 people, and room enough for fish to be transported. The walls of the boat were 3 or 4 feet.

So 3 foot walls of the boat, against 9 or maybe even 20 foot waves. Not good.

But notice the end of verse 24. Jesus is fast asleep. In a storm.

Chaos around him, and he rests in sleep.

Under the surface of this story, we see some great truths about who Jesus is.

We experience Jesus’s humanity here. Jesus has had an exhausting day! He preached to the crowds, healed people, cast out demons. Some think this all took place in one day. Regardless, Jesus was not a hologram of a human, he was actually human. He was tired just like us.

He was like us in every way, yet without sin.

Here we see Jesus struggling through humanity. But not only was he fully man, he is also fully God, and he is about to display that.

Also under the surface is another deeper meaning. Sleeping in times of trouble is a sign of faith and trust in God.

When the Israelites are entering the promised land, God promises to give them peace so that they can lie down and sleep and not be terrified.

In Job, when he is going through many trials, he friend promises that hope is coming, he will be able to rest and lie down dispite his enemies. .

Or think of many psalms and some the proverbs that talk about our hope being in God and if it is, we can sleep.

There is a connection to trusting God and sleep.

Remember the sermon on the mount? Jesus is showing us how to live it out.

Matthew is giving us narratives to help us better understand Jesus’s call to kingdom living.

It’s one thing just to say “Go and live like this.” But it is another thing to give an example for how we are to do it.

Remember the section on not being anxious? Don’t be anxious for anything, even your own life, because your heavenly father cares. In a sermon from a few weeks ago, we talked about 10 reasons not to be anxious. And here, Jesus is displaying what it looks like to not be anxious.

This is something I personally relate to, and I know some of you can as well. When troubles come in your life, work stresses, family stresses, financial stresses, relationship stresses, and you are brushing your teeth before bed, what are you thinking? About all the worry and how you wont sleep tonight! I know I do this!

But Jesus is showing us that we don’t have to live this way. He is resting knowing that God is bringing about his purpose.

We can rest in the mighty hand of God. I’m preaching to myself here. I need this truth. I said I was most qualified to speak on the subject of worry, not because I have mastered it, but because I struggle with this area most.

When my head hits the pillow, rather than worrying about it myself, I can rest that my father cares about me and will keep me safe.

But we don’t want to do that right? It’s easier for us to just worry ourselves to death about it. Rather than look to the father and remind ourselves that we are more valuable to him than all the birds and the flowers he takes care of. We are eternally secure in his hands.

Will we follow Jesus in resting through the chaos of life?

III. Asking for Assistance v25

Next, we see asking for assistance. Look at verse 25 with me:

Matthew 8:25 “25 So they came and woke him up saying, “Lord, save us! We are about to die!””

The disciples are not land dwellers. Remember the four that are following Jesus. They were fishermen. They were not strangers to the sea. They had probably encountered many storms in their day. But this one was enough to shake them and make them question their lives.

Though they had initial faith, they might be doubting their original decision to follow Jesus.

They question him. Don’t you care about us?

Sometimes, God is silent in our lives. And feels like he is not there. It feels like we need to awaken God to our troubles, our problems, our fears.

The psalmist talks this way about God sometimes. Here is one example.

Psalm 44:23–24 NET 2nd ed.

23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Wake up! Do not reject us forever. 24 Why do you look the other way, and ignore the way we are oppressed and mistreated?

Is God sleeping? No. Is God oblivious of our problems? No. Remember what Jesus says about anxiety two chapters ago? God already knows your problems.

But we can sometimes feel like this in our lives. We think to ourselves,

“Jesus, don’t you care about me?”

“Jesus, why are you allowing this pain in my life?”

“Jesus, can’t you see I can’t go through this on my own?”

“Jesus, I don’t know if i can handle one more pile up to the chaos in my life.”

“Jesus, do you even love me?”

There is a wonderful song by an Christian Singer named JJ Heller that goes like this:

“But you already know You already know Everything I'm scared of Everything I hope You hold my tomorrow And all tomorrow holds You already know”

This story is meant to be a reminder to us that in times of chaos in our lives, in times of the storms, when we think there is no way out, when we don’t know what to do, when we are overwhelmed, we can rest in the fact that Jesus does know and he does care.

And like the disciples, we can go to Jesus and ask for help. We acknowledge our need to ask for help.

Remember this from the sermon on the mount? Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will be opened to you, ask and you will receive.

Jesus wants to work in our lives, and sometimes, he is waiting for us to catch up and realize that he is who we need.

Why doesn’t he just work quicker in our lives? Why the need for the storms in our lives?

It reminds us of our dependence upon him. Our need for him. We recognize his authority in our lives and ask for help.

IV. Believing in Bewilderment v26

Fourth today, we see believing in bewilderment. We see this in verse 26.

Matthew 8:26 And he said to them, Why are you afraid, O you of little faith? Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Jesus wasn’t angry about being woken up. He rises to the occasion to help his disciples.

I don’t wake up with way. I’m a pretty grumpy person to wake up. I’m probably one of the worst people to wake up. Erika wakes me up for racoons at our door, and if i am mid sleep, I wake up very grumpy to deal with anything. Let the racoons have their day. I don’t want to deal with it.

But Jesus does not act like that. He rises to help his disciples.

He doesn’t correct them for disturbing his sleep after a long day of ministry, He is not upset that they disturbed him, he is upset that they disturbed themselves with their fears.

And look at what he does. Notice what Jesus deals with first. He deals with the heart problem, and then the massive storm at hand.

We probably would have done it differently. It may have been better to deal with the chaos, then address heart problems and work through emotions.

But Jesus does the opposite. Why? Why doesn’t he fix the storm first?

Two reasons. First, Jesus is showing us he cares about the heart problem first. Remember this from the sermon on the mount? Jesus cares about our heart issues. More than fixing all of the outside forces, more than fixing the chaos of our lives, he cares about our hearts.

Jesus cares far more about spiritual change than he does about circumstance change.

Sometimes our kids will come to us with a broken toy. For some reason, they think Erika can fix all problems and all toys. They will remind me of this sometimes. If I’m working on something and it breaks, they will say “Don’t worry, mom can fix it.” If a piece of clothing tears, they say “Don’t worry, mom can fix it.” They sincerely believe that everything broken mom has the ability to fix.

But often when they come to us with a broken toy, or a new tear in their clothing, before we address the physical solution for the problem at hand, we want to understand the actions. We will ask them what they were doing before the tragedy? What could they do differently next time? How could they prevent it from happening?

While the disciples have not caused the storm, Jesus addresses their heart before the situation at hand.

When we are going through times of chaos in life, maybe instead of asking for Jesus fix all of our problems, we ask for how he wants us to change. What is he trying to reveal to us about our current way of thinking, believing, feeling? How should we change our mindset to live in greater conformity to him?

It is good for us to self reflect. It is good for us to work through the emotions, mindset, and motivation behind who we are. It’s good for us to wrestle with them. We need to stop numbing ourselves to our own reality.

One thing that psychologists are becoming inreasingly aware of is how we use our phones and technology to distract us from the reality of who we really are.

Being alone with our thoughts and inner person scares us to death, so we distract ourselves to death. We have to stand in line at the pharmacy for 5 min so we pull out our phone to distract us. We don’t want to take a drive to portland without music or an audio book playing lest we have to really consider life’s deep questions and who we are as a person.

But, it is good for us to set aside the distractions and truly work through who we are and what our life is. What are we characterized by? Specifically relevent to this passage, do we show that we have faith in Jesus? Does my life and heart show that I really follow Jesus, even when the sky seems like it is falling?

In what ways is Jesus calling me to live in faith more for him?

Second, rather than just stepping in to solve the problem, he is giving them an opportunity to show faith. If he fixed the storm first, they would of course respond with belief. But here, he is reminding them of the little faith they have, and calling them to believe through the bewilderment. Believe that Jesus will care for them.

Storms of life are opportunities for us to have faith in Jesus. What is faith if we only trust in Jesus in the good times? When life is going my way and i have all the blessings? I of course have faith in Jesus. It’s easy to believe that he is working for his glory and for my good when I’m happy, healthy and wealthy.

But harder to believe in times of bewilderment.

Notice that they have faith, Jesus doesn’t say they lack all faith, he said they have little faith.

And it isn’t about the quantity of faith. Jesus is trying to tell them that their faith isn’t functioning properly. They need to have faith that God is their authority and can work in their circumstances.

I’m not sure they are lacking faith that he could do something to save them. They are lacking faith that he is the messiah and will overcome all for our sake.

What about us? Do we have faith enough to believe in Jesus even in the storms? Do we believe that he is really working and using the chaos in our lives to reveal himself to us? To reveal who we are and call us out of our unbelief? To call us to follow him in a greater way?

V. Recognizing the One who Reigns v27

Lastly today, we recognize the one who reigns. We this this in the disciples response to the work of Jesus in verse 27.

Matthew 8:27 “27 And the men were amazed and said, “What sort of person is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!””

Lets keep in mind. These were not land dwellers, they were sea faring men who were well acquanted with the storms coming and going. But this was not the clouds moving in another direction, they know and recognize that this calming was not a change in weather patters but an act of God.

This is why they they ask “What sort of person is this?” The Greek here is interesting. The three simple words in greek are “What is he?” They aren’t asking who he is, they are recognizing what he is. He is far more than a human person. To control the greatness of a storm, he must be something other than what they are.

In verse 27, where we would expect the word “disciples” the text says “men.” Some commentators have pointed out that Matthew is over emphasizing that Jesus is not just human (remember him sleeping a few chapters earlier), he is also divine, He is God.

-This is a good point for us to pause and look at the typology that is happening. If you haven’t been with us before when we talked about typology, this might be a new word for you.

Typology is a picture prophecy, an intentional allegory.

Remember the story of Jonah and the big whale/fish that swallows him? There are two many parallels to compare here.

One Biblical commentator says that Matthew is making the comparison to Jonah’s story too obvious.

Here are some of the parrellels:

-Both leave Jewish territory to bring God to the gentile people.

-Both share God’s love with undeserving people.

-Both journey on ship and get interrupted by a great wind storm. To be clear, not a lot of Biblical characters on ships. Jonah, Paul, and Jesus. It’s a rare thing to find a Jewish person on a ship in the Bible.

-Both main characters are sleeping.

-Both the sailors who Jonah accompanies, and Jesus’s disciples think they are about to die.

-Both the sailors and the disciples wake up the main character sleeping.

-Both the sailors and the disciples respond with worship and question after the event.

-Both describe the storm as “calming down” or “quieting down.”

If you read Matthew in greek, he is intentionally using the same language that Jonah of the greek septuigent is using.

You are meant to make this connection between these two characters. Matthew wants you to. And the reasons are multiple. And the reasons are shown in the contrasts of the two stories.

While Jonah is unable to take control of the situation, Jesus has full control of the situation.

Jonah is at the mercy of God, but the sea itself is at the mercy of Jesus. He is the authority over them.

Other people in scripture are able to command the elements, but only with the help of God. Think about Elijah praying for God to send rain. Think of God using Moses to part the red sea with his staff.

But here, Jesus doesn’t need to use a staff, he doesn’t need special enabling, he doesn’t need to say a prayer, He himself rebukes the wind and the waves.

They have already seem him have some power over nature as he heals the sick and the demon possessed, but here he is showing his diving power over something that can be tamed by no man.

Notice where the fear is turning. The disciples no longer fear the storm, they are recognizing with a healthy fear who they have in the boat. The one with them on their side, he is more powerful than the storm.

This is meant to be an encouragement to us also. When we go through the tragedies of our lives, the overwhelming anxiety, the fear, the pain, the stress, we remember that Jesus is more powerful than all of it. We don’t fear these issues, we recognize Jesus as over them.

The disciples were following him without fully understanding who he was. They knew he was their Lord, and that was enough for them. He would continue to display himself to them.

And so it is for us. Some people I meet want to understand God fully before they commit their lives to him.

Can you imagine a marriage couple doing this? “Alright, tell me everything, How you will react in all of these situations, all of your history, everything, then I will hold you to it that you won’t change.” No! This is the beauty of a marriage relationship. The wedding is just the start of a journey together of discovery as you learn about the other person. Through their actions and character, as you see it more, you fall deeper in love with them. Erika continues to do this for me. She continues to amaze me with her compassion and love for our Children. And also continues to amaze me with the skills she has that I didn’t even know about. Someone gave Leland a yoyo for Christmas, Erika pics it up out of the box, and starts doing tricks with it. I didn’t know she was a yoyo master. A few months ago, I came home and she had crochet hand band/ear warmers for herself and the girls. I didn’t even know she could do that! And we’ve been married for 10 years! Part of our relationship is not being stagnant with each other, but continuing to learn about each other in love.

So it is with Jesus. We don’t come to him and demand to know everything about him and every thing we will have to go through to have a relationship with him. We choose to follow him, and recognize who he is. Sovereign over us. We don’t get to know everything about him right away, we are on a path to discovering more of who he is in our lives.

Beyond the Walls (Grace and Growth)

The greatest threat to our security in life is the storm of our own sin.

In the story of Jonah, there needs to be a sacrifice for sin and worship. Jonah is sacrifieced on behalf of the people to calm the story. We know that we all have a great wild storm with in us. We all have a storm of sin that we cannot quiet ourselves. Just like Jonah was the sacrifice, Jesus was the willing sacrifice himself for the sake of his people. Jesus died on our behalf. The peace of God’s love can be realized in our hearts. Today you can truly say “Lord, save me.” and he will.

The people in Jonah’s day and Jesus’s day get to respond in worship to who Jesus is because he has removed the issue to fear.

Jesus does that in our lives. He removes the sin that was against us, and no we can respond to him with worship.

We rest in his grace that we are forever his and that he is at work in our lives. He is sovereign for us to put our trust in him.

In times of chaos of abuse and discouragement, we believe in Jesus.

In times of reluctance, we put our faith in Jesus.

In times of battling inward struggles, we trust in Jesus.

Faith in Jesus transforms our lives and makes us more like him.

We don’t look to ourselves for healing, we look to Jesus.

I don’t know what 2026 holds, and I’m not a prophet. But if i had to guess, I would say there will be some storms for us. When they come, and they will, what will we choose to do? Will we choose to fear the storms? Or will we choose to commit to Christ, Sleep in storms, ask for assistance, believe in bewilderment, and recognize the one who reigns?

Let’s pray.

Father, help me to set aside myself and come to your grace always.

Jesus, help me to regognize your power over the storms in my life.

Spirit, lead me and point me to worship Jesus.