Stay the Course

Luke 8

We’re in a season of storms.

White House, Afghanistan, COVID, a hurricane making landfall today.

During these times our faith is stretched and we have to decide if we’ll stand.

Romans 12:2

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Of course we know this means that we need to see things differently than others.

We actually can have hope during these times because of who we have in us and what His Word says!

God has a plan for everyone of us and while we’re hear on earth, we have assignments that he gives us.

Too many times we have some kind of spiritual ADD going on and get off the course that he’s charted for us.

Cash getting ready for the gym (distracted by Legos)

We’re all in a season now that has any folks dropping the anchor (keeping with the nautical theme) as it relates to life.

Many are in a holding pattern.

They’re too worried about this or that to get to church or to do what God has for them.

So they’re not progressing with the plan God has for their lives. .

As believers, when storms come, we still are to stay on course.

Luke 8:22–25 (NIV)

22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

As we walk through this, there’s some things we need to see.

1-We have an invitation to ride with Jesus

Jesus tells them, “Let’s go to the other side of the lake”. We’ll see this is important!

In this, we see Jesus had a mission and we need be the same way.

God didn’t put us on this earth to get saved then just live our best life.

We’ve got things we’re supposed to be doing.

Remember Jonah? He had his own plans of what he wanted to do since he wasn’t happy with where the Lord told him to go.

God had a HUGE plan for Jonah, but Jonah didn’t cooperate. Understand...

When the Lord tells us where we are to go, he’s not sending us there alone.

Back to the story, we’re not 100% sure who all was on the boat.

Maybe it was just the disciples, but possibly some others. You’ll see in v1 that Mary Magdalene and others were with them, but we’re not sure if they were on the boat.

Matthew and Mark’s account of this story has the disciples and Jesus doing a good bit of ministry that day, followed by Jesus saying let’s go to the other side of the sea of Galilee.

The disciples obey, and they leave the crowd. Matthew and Mark say they take Jesus “as he was” into the boat, which probably refers to the fact that Jesus is exhausted after a busy day ministering.

These passages not only emphasizes Jesus’ deity, by showing him perform an awesome miracle, but also emphasizes his full humanity by mentioning that he was tired.

So they get out on the water and a storm hits.

2-Storms will come

It’s a fact that we’ll have storms, troubles, etc.

James 1:2–3 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

So the disciples (and whoever else may have been on the boat) truly are afraid and go wake Jesus up.

When someone wakes you up and needs you to do something immediately, it’s never fun. He may have muttered a something as he’s getting up.

Did everyone on the boat really have a reason to fear?

This apparently was not an average storm because they were fishermen and knew about storms.

Notice that he rebuked the storm.

There was something demonic about the storm for Jesus to rebuke it.

The twelve had been given the authority to cast out demons and could have taken care of this storm themselves, but they failed to recognize that this storm was more than a storm and thus they failed to trust God and rebuke the prince of demons.

They had the authority to do it.

In Luke 10 -The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

They had the authority, but failed to walk in while on the boat with Jesus.

We also need to realize when storms in our lives are more than a storm.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we need to be able to recognize/discern the demonic in a storm and to rebuke the enemy.

Truth: Sometimes life just happens and it’s not an attack of the enemy.

Example: Our vehicles can die if we don’t maintain them. When that happens, it’s not a spiritual attack. It’s all you!

Again, life isn’t always easy, but when we stick with the Lord we’ll be alright!

Too many times we gripe and tell everyone we know about the mess that we’re going through.

We may even tell them that we need prayers, but I’m not sure the person complaining is even praying.

Don’t just talk about your storm. Speak to it!

When Jesus spoke, it was calmed. The disciples had the authority to do this.

Jesus rebuked Satan and encouraged the disciples to trust God.

Of course he didn’t cry out to the Father, “Don’t you care that your Son is about to drown?” He trusted His Heavenly Father.

He discerned straightaway that this storm was from Satan and He knew that God had empowered Him to overcome Satan’s efforts.

The disciples could have addressed the storm and not woke Jesus up. They had been around Jesus and had seen all that he had done, but they were overcome with fear, rather than walking in authority.

And too many times, we do the same thing.

As Christians, who are Americans with Biblical values, there are storms all around us.

Washington DC, Afghanistan, COVID, the attack on the family and gender.

And we know these are attacks of the enemy.

The attack on the family is against what the Word says about the family.

COVID isn’t of God. As a reminder...

John 10:10 (NIV)

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

So we need to be speaking TO these situations rather than being bound in fear and just talking about them.

Remember that he’s right here with you and I as storms are around us.

3-We’ve got to get to the other side

WORSHIP

Luke 8:26–27 (NIV)

26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs.

Mark’s account says he cried out day and night.

Luke 8:35–39 (NIV)

35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

We’ve all been walking through storms and we’re living in the weirdest times any of us have ever seen, but STAY THE COURSE!

Today and some of our more recent teachings may be similar, but there’s a reason for that.

On the other side of the lake was a man who had no hope who was crying out!

He was an outcast and full of demons. All he needed was just a touch from Jesus.

There are people all around us who need what we have, but we can’t let what’s going on around us prevent us from moving forward.

Some have dropped their anchors, but we’ve got to stay the course and continue to move forward!