Faith in Difficulties

Mark 4:36-41

Welcome to Mountain View Baptist Church. We are excited to have joining us today. God has certainly blessed us this summer and pray that God will bless for joining us. Remember our Welcome to the Family class is coming up on Sunday August 16. If you would be interested in learning about church membership, please join us on that day. We will need for you to sign up so we can be prepared. It will be next door in the church office at 10:00 AM . This two week class will be your opportunity to ask questions and learn about MVBC.

If you are first time guest, we would love to connect with you. Please stop by our welcome center to meet our friendly greeters who can answer any of your questions.

Our theme for this years has been Fortify the Family. We have been walking through the Scriptures to learn how we can best fortify the family. In the month of August, our focus will be on how to have peace in the storm. When the storms come, it would be our goal to equip you with peace instead of panic.

God’s ultimate goal in your storm is not your comfort, but your character; He wants you to trust His presence more than you fear the waves.

There’s a story about a man who was lost in a fierce snowstorm. He was freezing, desperate, and couldn’t see a thing. Finally, he stumbled upon a small cabin. He pounded on the door until a farmer opened it. “Please,” the man begged, “let me in. I’m freezing to death.” The farmer looked at him, then at the storm, and said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have any room. Only a one-room cabin.” The man fell to his knees. “Please! Just let me sit in the corner. I’ll be no trouble.” The farmer sighed and let him in. The man curled up in the corner, shivering, but safe. An hour later, the farmer heard a knock. It was the man’s best friend. The farmer repeated his story. “I’m sorry, no room.” The friend looked at the man in the corner and said, “It’s okay, just put me in the corner with him.” The farmer shook his head. “The cabin isn’t big enough for three.” The friend replied, “You don’t understand. We’re not scared of the storm. We’re scared of being alone in it.”

Every family will have storms that invade their lives. Some can be huge which comes from time to time. It is important not only to recognize them as storms, but recognize God is with you in the storm.

There are financial storms, there are health storms, and sometimes there are storms of doubt and fear. The most terrifying thing is not the waves or the wind in the storms, it is the feeling you are alone. This is where we meet Jesus in Mark 4. This is not just a miracle here, but a lesson faith in the face of fear.

God teaches you that He has not abandoned you in the sorm but He is teaching you a great lesson on faith.

There are three lessons on God’s presence in our storms.

Lesson 1. . .

Jesus knows of the storm vv. 35-37

The storm did not come as a surprise to Jesus. They were to go over to the side and Jesus was the one who initiated the trip. He led them right into the storm. The word great storm describes a hurricane-force tempest. Common on the Sea of Galilee when cold air plunges from the Golan Heights and collides with warm air over the lake. It was very frightening for these experienced fishermen. This was an immediate crisis and they were fearful of death.

Notice that Jesus was asleep. This was a deep, peaceful sleep. Not exhaustion, but sovereign rest. He was secure in His Father’s will. Jesus teaches us that we can rest in Him Matthew 11:28–29 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Jesus knew that God was aware of the need. While Jesus was sleeping , the Father was a awake Psalm 121:4 “Behold, he that keepeth Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.”

Think of a firefighter’s training. They don’t learn to fight fires in a calm classroom. They go into a controlled burn building. The heat is real, the smoke is thick, and the fear is present. The instructor does not stop the fire; he walks *through* it with them, pointing out the exits and showing them how to stay low. Jesus didn’t stop the storm *immediately* because He was teaching them *in* it. He was not ignoring them; He was training them.

The next time a crisis hits, don’t ask, “God, why did You let this happen?” That assumes it was a mistake. Instead, ask, “Lord, what are You teaching me in this storm that I could not learn in the calm?” Stop asking for a way out and start asking for a way through. Write down one specific struggle you are facing right now. Next to it, write: “Jesus brought me here. He is not worried. I will not panic.”

But Jesus’s question to them has behind it this thought: Your premise is wrong. You should have known better. I do allow people I love to go through storms. You had no reason to panic.

Timothy Keller

The disciples panicked because they measured the storm against their own ability. Think about the storms that come into our lives, we seek to work out those problems on our own, thinking that we can “fix” the situation. If we “fix” the problem, we think we can move on in our “comfort” of living. Remember God is shaping our character, it moulding our lives into the image of Jesus Christ.

Lesson 2. . .

Jesus saw their need vv. 38, 40

Jesus always comes to us in the storms of life.

Warren W. Wiersbe

Their fear blinded their faith in Jesus. v. 38, they thought Jesus didn’t care. It is an accusation out of fear. God must not care about us or our needs. There are many believers who have bought into the lie that Jesus doesn’t care and so they turn away from God.

Jesus sees your need also. The first need He sees in our lives is our need of a relationship with Himself. Do you know Him today? He wants you to spend an eternity with Him in heaven. This means we must accept Him as our personal Savior. He will be with us in the storm.

There was an elderly couple in our church that starting attending before I left in Fairfield. They asked me to come by and I heard their story. They both told of a time when a major storm came into their life. Their son who was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot was killed in Operation Desert Storm. They had prayed for his protection and their words, God did not protect him. So they turned away from God and become miserable and bitter. God has been working in their hearts and they came back to church and wanted to get right with God. Their words were: we made two mistakes. 1. Rather than accepting God’s will in their storm, they became angry at God. 2. Running away from God was even worse.

They were heartbroken but now had peace in their heart with God.

Please notice Jesus did not answer them directly but dealt with the storm first. Peace! Be still means to be muzzled. He treated the storm like a wild dog out of control. But then He turns the disciples and His question why are you fearful? The word for afraid means cowardly or timid. Why have you not exercised your faith?

The problem was not the storm outside but the faithlessness of them on the inside. Jesus was confronting their hearts. This word faith is an active trust in the person and power of Jesus regardless of the circumstances. Jesus was in the boat with them.

Isaiah 43:2 “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” God doesn’t promise a road of ease but His presence in the storms that come.

I once read about a father teaching his daughter to swim in deep water. She was terrified, thrashing, screaming, “Daddy, I’m drowning! Help me!” The father held her at arm’s length. She couldn’t touch the bottom. She panicked. Then he said, “Sweetheart, you are not drowning. I have you. Stop fighting. Let me hold you up.” As soon as she stopped screaming and relaxed into his arms, she realized she was supported. The danger was never real; it only *felt* real because she wasn’t trusting his grip. The disciples were thrashing in the boat while the Creator of the wind sat three feet away.

Here is the hard question: Are you more afraid of the storm, or more afraid of what it would mean if you actually trusted Jesus? Faith is not the absence of fear. Faith is acting in obedience *despite* fear.

Fear is a normal human reaction however, we are told throughout the Bible to “fear not.” The fear not is almost always connected to God’s presence.

Lesson 3. . .

Jesus grew their faith

While the need for the disciples was for the storm to stop, the need Jesus saw was greater faith. It is through the storms that our faith is strengthened.

191 Life is literally filled with God-appointed storms. These squalls surge across everyone’s horizon. We all need them.

Chuck Swindoll

Verse 41 explains it quite well-who is this Man? The wind and sea obey Him? This is where the storms show us who God is. Before they were fearful of drowning, now they are in awe of God. We need to know Jesus better and it is in the storms you know Jesus better. How well do you know Him?

This storm was a means to a greater end: showing us who Jesus is. The Old Testament declares that only God has authority over the sea (Job 38:8–11, Psalm 107:29, Psalm 89:9). By commanding the storm, Jesus is doing what only Yahweh does. The disciples ask the most important question in the Bible: “Who is this?” The storm didn't destroy them; it revealed to them that the One in their boat was not just a teacher. He was God in the flesh. He is the creator, the all powerful one, He who could take care of the storms in our lives and teach us about Himself.

Families are going to have storms and we have a promise from God that He will be with us in the storm. He has power over the storm because He created the winds and rain. God may have you in a storm to strengthen and grow your faith. Dad, it may not be your faith but maybe your children’s faith. Mom, it may not be your faith but your husbands faith that God is strengthening. Let me caution you, don’t cry out to stop the storm, cry out to be strengthened in the storm. Our prayer in the storm is for God to teach us the lesson of faith He has for us.

Led me remind you that Jesus is there with you.