Luke 8:22-25 - A Fierce-Weather Friend

I want to talk to you today about a fierce weather friend a fierce weather friend. We're going to be in Luke chapter 8. So if you have your Bibles with you, I asked you to find your way to Luke chapter 8 will be picking up in verse 22 here in just a few moments. But most of you will know what I'm talking about when I mention the words fair weather friend, right a fair weather friend is someone who remains a friend to you only so long is being a friend is a convenient or an easy thing for them to do. If it's at least the mid-1800s individuals have been using this phrase fair-weather friend and its analogy of whether to summarise friends who are only friends so long as the weather in the relationship is there. These are friends who are happy with you when there are no storms in the life that you live.

When sun is shining when Fortune seems to be falling into your lap a fair-weather friend is the friend that you expect to be right there with you. But watch out when the storms come watch out when things go bad in your life because that friend in those moments will be nowhere to be found because a fair weather friend will not hang around when the storms of life come. Because the fair weather friend either only wants you for what you can provide or simply can't deal with the drama of the storms in your life. I had a dear man who I greatly loved who asked me a few weeks ago what I thought about playing the lottery and so I answered him and I'm going to I'm going to share with you a little bit of what I answer to him. The lottery is a dangerous game. It's a tax it for people who stink at math. Okay, if you're allowed at math and then the lottery is a tax for you and while it may be fun for some individuals is dangerous for other individuals because some people don't understand the odds of the lottery. And so they invest what Niger income they have on as many tickets as they can buy with the hope that they're going to strike it rich and in the end instead of living a modest living by widely using their meager income the end up destitute with only a pile of what could have been lottery tickets to show for their labors and some individuals even scale back on their labors or don't work at all and they try to find income through other means sometimes dishonest mean so that they can buy more lottery tickets with the hope that they're going to strike it rich and never have to do that thing called rolling up your sleeves and getting to work. Now, I realize that not everyone who plays the lottery is going to spend all of their. Earned income on that sort of thing for many individuals is just a fun game, but I know what a snare the lottery can be for so many individuals and so because I greatly understand this as well as how the odds are so greatly stacked against me as well as how if I were to play the lottery that could be a stumbling block for others who do struggle in this sort of area. I personally do not play the lottery I do not recommend that anyone else plays the lottery so I explained all this to my dear friend and at the end of that he said, okay now suppose I were to play the lottery and I want a 877 million-dollar jackpot jackpot that was out there of a few weeks back. You guys will remember that and suppose I wanted to tithe to the church from my window. What the church accept my tie. This was the question for my friend. And I said you better believe we would.

Cuz we're not going to let your unwise financial decisions. Keep you from being a b into the Lord when it comes to tithing.

Maybe maybe that makes me a fair weather friend. I don't know but median individual who has coming to a sudden Fortune like a lottery winning has learned what it's like to have fair weather friends. These are the individual to learn about the sunny days of your life and they're happy to share those sunny days with you. Affair weather friends might be happy to go with you to the fancy restaurant so long as they know that you're picking up the tab or they may be happy to associate you with that with you during why you serving in the high position in work or at the church or in some other capacity? because they want to borrow a some borrow some of your credibility when it comes to the organization that they too are a part of

or they may be happy to hang around you and enjoy laughter and smiles and the good things that come with a fair-weather times of life, but When Storms Come Fair weather friends no longer show themselves to be friends when you lose that fortune or when you receive that diagnosis or when you're fired from that position when you're arrested for that crime or when you're struggling with that broken relationship, you find that a fair weather friend cannot be counted on in those moments of life. The fair-weather friend throws up his hands and says I can't deal with all of this mess in my life. I've got enough drama on my own in the fair-weather friend in that moment is found to be lacking.

And so instead when we know fair weather friends here on Earth. We find that we are longing for something greater. We find we are longing for one who will be a friend with us through the fierceness of the storms. We find we are longing for a fierce weather friend and today as we dig into God's word. We're going to see my friends that Jesus is a fierce weather friend. If you have not swear that ask if you're staying with me now to honor the reading of his word, let's all stand together if you're able. and as I mentioned we will begin in verse 22 of Luke chapter 8

Is what we read now on one of those days Jesus and his disciples got into a boat and he said to them let us go over to the other side of the lake so they lost out. But as they were selling along he fell asleep. And a fierce Gale of wind send it on the lake and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke him up saying master master. We are perishing as you got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves and they stopped and it became, and he said to them where is your faith? They were fearful and amazed saying to one another who then is this that He commands even the wind's and the water and they obey. Yeah, here's the ending of God's holy word if you will be seated. And this is a familiar passage to so many of us because we've grown up hearing this passage. This is a passage which is so common in children's Bibles is common in Sunday school lessons for children's church gathering. This is a lesson that if you had some involvement with church in your life prior to becoming an adult you probably heard about Jesus's work in calming the storm. It's a familiar theme for vacation bible schools and so on and so forth It's a beloved account of this event in Jesus's life reminds us both of his power and of our needs to trust in him and this event that look record for us today is an event that is also recorded by the other gospel authors of the synoptic gospels that it exists there in Matthew chapter 8 as well as Mark chapter 4, and so that's one of the things that leads to its familiarity with us, but Luke. Starts out here in his account of this event in Jesus's life simply by recording that Jesus and his disciples got into a boat. We're talking about Jesus and the men that he is preparing to carry on his gospel Ministry once he has ascended into heaven. They get onto a boat and you might recall through our study of Luke that far the Jesus's disciples had a lot of experience with boats. As a matter of fact, at least four of these men had been professional fisherman before they left their Nets to follow Jesus. But apparently they still had access to boats. We see later on. For example after Jesus is risen in the Gospel of John that the disciples were out fishing and Jesus shows them who he is by doing the same thing that we've already seen earlier in Luke. He tells them to cast their Nets out on the side and they bring in a great hall what they still fishing after Jesus Ascension. They still got some sort of tied to these boats. Maybe they still had the family members who were there in the family business whatever the case maybe they have access to boats and so on this day Jesus and the disciples get into a boat and it's a sailboat. We know that from verse 23, that's where Luke says that once they departed they were sailing along. Now the place where this boat was selling. What's an area? That's that's prone to exceptionally Fierce storms. It's an area that surrounded actually by mountains. There are the Golan Heights over on the east and then there is Mount Hermon to the North Mount Hermon being a tall mountain witch hat would would typically be snow-capped but when the snow would melt it would drift down funnel into this river forming a freshwater lake that is known as the Sea of Galilee it all other accounts look actually refers to it as a lake and not to AC which is really a more accurate description in terms of how we identify Lakes vs C's but this Blake do we find here in verse 22 is 13 miles long from north to south and about seven miles wide from east to west. And it's and it's a freshwater lake. Not only is it in a freshwater lake surrounded by kind of mountains on either side, but it it's a light that is actually the lowest elevation freshwater lake in the world. This this lake is actually some seven hundred feet below sea level and you compare that with the mountains that are around at those hills and mountains ass into over 2,000 feet in certain places. And so what would you find in? This is that there's there's actually this Prime environment for storms to form because at the mountains are around the the Wynwood sweet down these mountains, you got the wind coming from the Mediterranean Sea to the Eastwood sweet down and then you got a cold wind from the Golan Heights which would sweep down from the West. From the East Western Mediterranean Sea East is going to be the Golan Heights and these winds coming together, you know what happens when cold and hot are combined together. What would happen over this late great storms would form the singer was known for exceptional storms. The Sea of Galilee is a place where people expect great storms to happen and I continue to be the case today and on this day. Jesus gives a simple command to his disciples as they enter a boat and he said let us go over to the other side of the like the other side of this Sea of Galilee. More like a man seemed so simple to us. It was really sets the stage for this great drama on the Sea of Galilee or just as we've read a few moments ago on their Journey to the country of the gerasenes Jesus and his disciples encounter a great storm. In fact The New American Standard Bible translators translate what they encounter as a fierce Gale of wind with the send it on this Lake and Jesus was leading his disciples into a fierce storm. And if he does that he's going to reveal to his disciples that he is a fierce weather friend. In fact, I want to share with you from this passage three reasons why Jesus is a fierce weather friend. The first is this Jesus is a fierce weather friend because he chooses to be there for you, even though he knows what's wrong with you. Let me say that again. Jesus is a fierce weather friend because he chooses to be there for you even though he knows what's wrong with you. Jesus proved through his ministry and particularly through his resurrection from the grave that he was the very Son of God and the Divine Son of God. Jesus has all of the attributes of divinity. He has all the attributes of what it means to be God. One of those attributes he has is God in the flesh is that he is omniscient. He knows all thinks. He knows the future. He knows what will happen if certain situations. Why does that matter here in this passage? Well, because you should know that Jesus knew about this storm before his disciples went in that direction before he commanded them to go in that direction. Momastore man called everyone else I've guarded did not catch Jesus off guard because he is God In the Flesh and somebody causes us to ask an important question. Why would Jesus Lead his followers into a storm? Now for us to consider what Jesus would do a thing like that, we should take a moment to come to consider really what storms in general reveal to us about ourselves. And it's good for us to really abstract this up a little bit. Certainly. This passage has some insights for us on how we can live by faith in the midst of actual physical storms as they come upon us. Life, but life is full of all sorts of storms of other varieties. There are all sorts of situations that we encounter that mirror what we encounter in a store. Storms are often times these unexpected events that are out of our control and life and get like that count. Storms of life they come in many forms and this passage has a lessons for us. There are practical for us in the midst of all manner of storms that we might encounter in life. And storms the situations that take us out of our comfort zones and remind us that there are things which threatened us with your out of our control storms test our faith shakers around into what's really within his comes out of us. It has this come spilling out storms cause it to realize that we cannot depend on our selves and Stones cause us to reach out beyond our cell to something. That is greater. Then what we can do on our own. episode of summarize storms develop character and storms reveal character that's certainly the case for what Jesus is doing with his disciples here in these verses. About the storm and he knew that the storm would reveal in his disciples a lack of faith when the waves grew large. They they look at how great the waves were and they forgot how great the God was who was in the boat there with them?

And Jesus knew there was something that was lacking in his disciple teen you that they were lacking this area of faith. He chose to be with them anyways. That's a fierce weather friend. Fair weather friend will learn some negative flow in your character and then we'll find some reason to stay away from you, but not a fierce weather friend a fierce weather for his stand by when your flaws room display and loves you through those floss. Jesus needed his disciples to know about their flaws and to grow past them. So he chose to be there with it and to help them find a piece that they could use for any storm. That might come in the future. They were ready for this storm and let me say this the time to prepare for a storm is not in the midst of the storm the time to prepare for the storm is before the storm comes and there's a truth later In this passage for those who are in the midst of a storm right now. But before I get to that truth, I want to ask those of you who are not in a storm right now those who are living in the fair weather in the good times of your life right now and ask you are you ready for the storms when they come?

when the storms of life bombard you how are you resolved? In your heart to respond. What if you get a diagnosis this coming week that says that you've only got a few months left to live. Are you sure in your heart how you're going to respond to that storm? What if you lose your job this coming week? Are you ready for that storm? Bank of America to you. Love most what if they were taken away from you in a senseless act of violence or through some other means like But Lizzy spoke about with their pastor friend. I hope that never happens, but if it does my friend, are you ready? for that storm how we respond? And my friends we must confess that we our fault. We are falling there's something terribly wrong with each and every one of us. If you say my life is a mess than welcome to the rights of humanity my friends because that's the truth for each and every one of us. It's and everyone of us Bears the curse of this Fallen race. And Jesus knows that we all have something that is wrong with each and every one of us. But whether friend he's a friend who stands by you through this, he's a friend who knows what's wrong with us and yet chooses to come after us the chooses to let us enjoy the storm so that we can grow from this and he does not abandon us in the ship or leave us to our own devices because Jesus is a fierce weather friend. In fact, Jesus knows about your heart. If you are rejecting him, he knows how you disobey him in the everyday life and yet time and time again. We see through God's word that his love is still for you. His desire is still for you to be restored. His passion is still to find you and to reconcile you in peace. That's all rights and Romans chapter 5 verse 8. God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And that's a fierce weather friend. The first reason you can know that Jesus is a fierce weather friend is because he chooses to be there for you, even though he knows what's wrong with you. The second reason why Jesus is a fierce weather friend. Is this Jesus the fierce weather friend because he answers the call when you cry out for help. No es Jesus and his disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee before they traveled Into the Storm verse 23 record that Jesus fell asleep. And here we have one of those facets of Jesus's nature that remind us of his Humanity. It reminds us and not only is Jesus God, but he is God With Us. He is God In the Flesh. He is fully God and fully man both at the same time and Jesus needed sleep just like you and I need sleep. This episode records that for us. In fact, this is the only biblical episode we have the report anything about Jesus sleeping typically around this time of year. We sing songs like sleeping in the Beast. There's no description of Jesus sleeping when he was an infant child. Did he sleep?

Bully man. This is in what we have revealed in scripture. The only indicator that we have a little explanation about Jesus sleeping. Even though it's something that he would have had to do to from the Cradle to the Grave. But Jesus is a great high priest and that's what this reveals for us my friends. He is able to mediate between God and man because he knows the experiences of God and the experiences of man and Jesus knows what it's like to be dead tired, but I can only imagine how exhausting this ministry must have been we talked last week about how the crowds were so thick around him that he couldn't even eat. That's why his mother and his brothers came trying to rescue him from all of this mess. They could tell he was exhausted. They were worried about his mental state and Shirley Cheese's had an exhausting Dead Tired sort of ministry as he went about caring for all of humanity in his ministry here on Earth. But Jesus knows what it's like he knows what it's like to be a man. He could fall asleep in the boat that was in the midst of a storm that was causing that boat to be covered with waves. Jesus was so exhausted and asked Jesus fell asleep in the boat. The storms came with Jesus in the boat with the storms came. That's an important truth. You need to know your friends storms will come into your life. Even if you're following Jesus and if you've been told by some Prosperity Gospel yielding preacher that if you just follow Jesus in your life will be all healthy wealthy and wise and you won't have any problems give me smooth sailing from here on out. I want to tell you fertile. I because that's not what God's word promises to us.

G following Jesus doesn't exempt you from the storms of life care of the disciples. They have left everything in order to follow him and yet even while he's there with them in the boat the storms come raging. And still they face the storms. If only Jesus will not keep you from the storms of life being in the boat with Jesus does not guarantee you smooth sailing, but it will provide you with the comfort of knowing who is Lord over the storm. And Jesus had this lesson that his disciples needed to learn. They needed to learn who was Lord over the storm. And thankfully look gives us the abbreviated version. Right? This is a lesson that we can learn from God's word. And so hopefully we will all here and he this lesson here today on the one who commands the winds and the waves and circumstances of the situation better in your life here and now Because I want you to know my friends no matter what the storm. Maybe Jesus is Lord over it. No matter what. The circumstances might be. Jesus is the Lord over them. He rules and he reigns over every storm that you and I might encounter and we need to know this.

Are there certain characteristics of this storm that are characteristic of the storms of life that you will face? Briggs Apple we can't predict the intensity of storms the disciples didn't know that a storm was brewing. It seems as though the storm hits them at a time when they're least expecting it. and you might say we're going to wake up meteorologist who can take a look at the weather maps and they can tell me to take a barometric pressure reading like a look at other factors humidity that can kind of predict for us a certain level of understanding of how intense the storm is going to be and when that storm is going to hit well, maybe to a degree But I think this path hurricane season is a good reminder for each and every one of us that the mean the meteorologist don't always get that. Right, right. We had hurricane Michael. It was brewing down to the to the east actually of us. This is east on your side to the east of us and and that storm look like it was going to be a mess. I mean it look like it's going to cut straight through our area. So the meteorologist told us to go out and get prepared in the sales were bare, right? I mean, you couldn't find bread for a from eight hundred mile radius while everybody's getting ready for that storm. What did Michael never made it to I hear it took a detour when another way more than we had hurricane Florence to the South and you know, everybody kind of thought will hurricane Florence is going to come up through Florida. We won't have any more to worry about when it gets here. So nobody went the store that sells raw steel stock and it would put our flashlight back in the drawer and then powers out for most of us, right because we couldn't predict the strength of that storm. We couldn't predict the timing of that storm. And so often that's what storms of life are like.

So many storms come when you're least expecting them. This storm was no exception. This storm was like So many that we face it was out of the disciples control just as so many storms of our own lives or out of our room control. And then we should take a moment to recall as I've already mentioned that strong storms were so common on the Sea of Galilee and we should also remember that at least four of the disciples were fishermen by trade. They had worked on this fee for the majority of their lives. They had dealt with some of these treacherous storms that are common to the Sea of Galilee, but this was a storm like this was a thorn that calls into question whether or not they were going to make it. This must have been some storm. It was a greater storm. Then they never experienced the storm that caused them to give up hope that they would even survive. The storm in fact caused them to realize just how helpless they really were. Yeah, they may have invested a Lifetime on the sea. They may have invested the lifetime learning how to steer around these storms. But all of their labors all of their works, all of their efforts could not contribute to what they needed here in this storm. Insulate realize here in this moment that they need a fierce weather friend. They realize that they need someone who can do something beyond what their training with the preparation with their own capabilities are able to do it. And so they cry out to one who is a fierce weather friends the cry out to Jesus.

We get a sense here from this passage. Crying out to Jesus was really the last thing that they did we get the sense that they had to go through a time of trying on their own at time of pulling it off on their own before they would realize that they had a need for Jesus to take care of the storm the tried to save themselves before they saw his help. And that's where I see the lack of faith in this passage is he Jesus with allowing his disciples to Carry On by themselves so that they could finally realize the failures of their own abilities and come to realize just how much they needed him to make the difference. But Jesus is a fierce weather friend because even when the wind and the waves are crashing over the boat, Jesus was not awakened by that. I mean that's pretty amazing sort of thing to think this boat rocking back and forth and wrecking into the waves in the waves crashing over to the point where another gospel off to talk about the boat was close to the point of being filled. It was close. The capsizing in Jesus is in the stern of this boat sleep the storm will not wake him. And you may think it's a pretty amazing thing that the storm would not wait Jesus, but there's something that's even more astonishing to me here in this moment. Even if Jesus could not be woken by the wind and the waves and the tumultuous time that this storm brought. Do you know what did wake him? the cries for help of his disciples even when the wind and waves could not wake Jesus up the cries of his disciples could now that's a fierce weather friend. It doesn't matter what the circumstances maybe a fierce weather friend will answer the call a fish with her friends will be there for you a fierce weather friend comes to your Aid and that's what Jesus does here. Am I friends if the boat of your life is rocking if the winds are blowing and the waves are raging. I want you to know that there is a fierce weather friend for you. There is a fierce weather friend who can handle your storm. There is a fierce weather friend who hears and respond to your prayers. Are you sending out the distress call? Are you ushering up to him your pleas for help? Are you trying to go through the storm? alone

I can't guarantee that Jesus will pull you out of the storm that you're in but you can bet your bottom dollar that he hears and he respond and he will do what is right. How can I be sure that will because that's the summary of Jesus's Ministry. Jesus came to save in Matthews account of this episode. He recalls it some one among his fellow disciples cried out with these words save us Lord. We are perishing now. That's a cry the Jesus will answer. Are you crying out for him to save you are you crying out to him saying Lord the storms of my life are many I have no settled piece. I don't know what's going to happen with me when this storm is over. I don't know what's going to happen with me when this life ends. Are you crying out with that sort of mentality that my friends Jesus stands ready to safe because when we hit the end of our abilities, we find the fierce with a friend who has all abilities who grants to us. His righteousness by the work that he has done the thing that only he could do and bearing the penalty of our sins and still being the righteous one before God. He has done so that you can find life if you can't find safety. You can't be saved in him.

Prince you should know that apart from Jesus you are perishing the one of your Sims is drowning you you need to be saved. So when you cry out to him with these words, will you cry out and say Save Me Lord Jesus I embarrassing. Cuz Jesus has come to save. It's amazing to me that In this passage is able to tame the wind and the waves and yet he would still be willing later on in his life to enjoy the mocking to enjoy the same to enjoy the beauty sand being spat upon a strip naked and hung to I instrument of execution. It's amazing to me that Jesus could speak to the wind and waves and steal them and yet he would still bear that and you know, why because he is coming to save. Please come to do that for you. He has come to Bear the stripes that we have learned. He is come to Bear the penalty which was rightfully ours. He has come as the just for the unjust that we might find peace with. Almighty God. Jesus V with a friend because he answers the call when you cry for help. That's the second reason why Jesus is a fierce weather friend Here's the final one. Jesus is a fierce weather friend because he can deal with your storms. This is a fierce weather for him because he can't deal with your storms. So often a fair weather friend checks out when the going gets tough Affair weather friends as you know, what I don't need this in my life. I don't need this drama. I can't handle this mess but that's not what we learned about Jesus here in this passage. Jesus can deal with our storms. In fact, he displays a power that causes the wind to cease and the waves to lay flat. How does he do that? What Jesus simply speaks and it is done. He got up and he rebuked the wind in the serving ways and they stopped and it became calm. In friends, that is great power on display. That's a power that none of our technological advances has come close to nothing man has done on his own can stop the wind and the waves but simply by the words of his mouth. Jesus can Martin County courts that he said to the Sea be still in the wind and the waves in that moment heard a voice that was familiar to them. It was a voice that it actually spoken them into creation back in Genesis chapter 1 John chapter 1 in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God through him all things were made apart from him. Nothing was made that has been made. This was the word that became flesh my friend. This was the voice that it's spoken creation into order now speaking to that same creation be still In This Moment Jesus now calls that what she has created to settle down. And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. I can't help but think here this is just a foretaste of what we have coming and all of eternity. My friends as Christ comes again for his own and sell one day create a new Heaven and a new Earth no more sickness. No more. Sorrow No More Pain No More Death because the one who spoke it into creation will speak it into peace and here we have a foretaste of that in just this small microcosm of what Jesus does and comic the wind and the waves Can you imagine the Silence of that moment? Can you imagine the silent after the ship is crashing against the waves in the winds are blowing in pin here and you're yelling out to the closest person to you and I still can't hear you because of the storm and then all of a sudden Jesus speaks and it is silent. You can hear the board creaking underneath your feet. You can hear the water in ripples lapping up against the side of the boat.

Suddenly all is at peace. That would be a pretty shocking experience. It certainly was for Jesus disciples and in that moment as their faith had been tested a new sort of storm entered into their hearts. We find that they were fearful. They were afraid In This Moment. Surely think of themselves as white if we not trust in him. Why did we not call out to him sooner? Why haven't we gotten this lesson yet? Surely? We've seen him work Miracle after Miracle. But why are we still doubting that he will prevail through the storm and accomplish what he has said he will do. In the Bible draws our attention to this important question that the disciples asked here. It's a question that we need to ask as well then is this who commands the even the winds and the waves of water and they obey him? And I want to tell you who he is. He is God In the Flesh. He is a savior come down to save all of those who are stuck in an eternal storm. He is Jesus who is the author and Perfecter of our faith. And the more you realize who he is the more you will trust in what he can do and my friend I want to ask you is your fat in him in the midst of this trial that you're going through in your life. Is your faith in him. Because for these disciples in this moment their faith in flat their perspective got out of whack. They stopped looking at Jesus and started looking at those huge waist, but hear me on this. Jesus is bigger than those waist. He was bigger than those ways all along. Is bigger than the storms in your life as well? And you need to know Jesus is Worthy of your trust in the midst of life's storms. You believe that. Let me give you extra clothes here 3 quick resolutions of trust in the one who can handle the storms of your life. You want to live with faith in the midst of life's storms resolve to keep these commitments and you'll do well with our Fierce weather friend resolved that first of all, I will obey him even if he leads me into dangerous situation you seen the storm that the disciples face he was a storm that came about not because they were being disobedient because they were being obedient. Jesus told him to go into this storm in a question you and I need to be prepared to answer. Is this am I willing to follow Jesus into the storms? Cuz there's no promise the following his will steer us away from the storms. But there is an insurance and Ironclad assurance that he will be with us through whatever storm he calls us in and I feel that so often we wouldn't even be where the disciples were in our own faith because we would have heard Jesus telling us to go across the sea which is so common for its storms and we would have said Jesus and I don't think that's the right thing for me to do. There could be danger. You're leading me into something that could be perilous to me. But at least then disciples went even if they got them glued as they were in the midst of the storm. They did obey his voice and we too must have made him even when he leaves us into dangerous situations. We resolve will you resolve to do that? I will obey you even if you leave me into dangerous situations. Secondly, you should resolve the following I will trust you even when the outcome looks dreary. Let me ask is there a storm of Life any storm? Not just a storm you're in the midst of right now is is there any storm that you could fathom? That would throw you off from trusting in Jesus. Despite all that he's done for you how many winds and waves would it take I think if we're honest, it wouldn't take a lot for most of us, but we must resolve to stop looking at the circumstances of life and start looking to the Savior who rules over the winds and the waves finally ordered you to make this resolution. I will remember his power even when life gets rough. You see through the storm the disciples were in the midst of training they were in the midst of preparing for something that would come later on. They were learning that the Lord to get them through something that they thought they could never get through with his Newfound fear. If Jesus had made any sort of requested that can you imagine them turning him down. Can you imagine in the moment? The sea lice flat the boat is no longer waiting back and forth that the winds are no longer battering against them. Can you imagine in that moment a fear and amazement if they had somehow heard from Jesus? That he wanted them to press on. And they said no Jesus. We've learned our lesson we're not going where you tell us to go anymore. That would be ridiculous sort of thing for them to say what did not. They had seen his power at work. And this was equipping them for Greater Works than these they would face greater storms than these. In fact these disciples. The majority of them would have their life taken away that they face persecution with a boldness that says Jesus is Lord and you need to know about his power over your life. The disciples needed this message. They needed to know what you and I need to know as we Face the storms of our life. It's a testimony that God gives us throughout his word. God is in control. God is in control. I don't know what the storm is that you may be going through. I don't know what the Peril is that you may be facing there. Maybe even something that God is calling you to do and you're saying in your heart. I just don't know if I can do that thing. I don't know if I can stand up in that way against that thing that's happening at work. I don't know if I can deal with that brother in the midst of his sin. I just don't know if I can go to that place and those people who need to hear the gospel. I know they need it Lord, but they will be parallels there. There may be lessons my friends that we need to learn from these disciples to say that God is good and when he commands his own He commands us with a power that rules and Reigns over all that we may face that's a let us resolve to be people who live with a life that displays to others that God is in control and these storms may be fierce at the moment, but his plans are eternally good for me. Would you resolve to live that way? What goes with a word of prayer father?

Your plans are Indie good.

In the storms of life. They are many for us. Oh Lord.

There are certainly individuals here who are going through storms now or we know that's is a common experience of mankind. Because I just pray you would increase our faith. Let us learn from the example of these disciples. The lesson that can only be learned either by going through the storm or by seeing the truth that you teach in situations like this to others who been through the storm Lord. Let us learn that you control all things. You've got it all in the palm of your hands. And yet you have granted to us a fierce weather friend who will be there for us through the storm. Lord may we live lives that show we trust it. May we yield up our own Pursuits of our own righteousness and say we have nothing apart from that. I pray that each and every individual in this place would give consideration to the only one who is the way the truth and the life the only one who can't be The Rescuer the only one who is the savior 4evermore and may will Lord get in the boat with him and be ready to do whatever he tells us to do. I pray these things in Jesus name.