Finding Peace and Power in the Midst of a Storm

Introduction

This evening I want to revisit a message I preached here some 3.5 years ago. This passage has been on my mind especially this week. There are a lot of souls hurting in our church, and I believe that this passage of Scripture holds great truths that is easily forgotten when you suffering.

So today we’re going to examine what the disciples experienced here, but looking to Peter especially.

This morning we’re going to Preach about ‘Finding Peace & Power in the Midst of the Storm’

I. He Found Himself in the Midst of a Trial

Physically Exhausted

John 6:19 tells us that they had traveled 25-30 furlongs which = 3-4 miles.

Lake of Gennesaret was approximately 8 miles in width so they were literally in the ‘midst of the sea’ (v24)

Mark 6:47 states that they were in the sea in the evening which is 6-8pm

…and they were in the midst of the sea in the fourth watch (v25) which is between 3-6am.

So, they went 3-4 miles somewhere in between 6-12 hours, struggling against the winds & storms – they were physically spent!

Emotionally Exhausted

Now tell me how you’d feel if you’d been struggling for what seemed like an eternity and not making any progress.

Some of you can tell me that, because you’ve been there! You may not be in the midst of the sea, but you’ve been through trials where you seem to be there forever and not see any progress! It’s emotionally draining!

(Ill.) When we were on our road trip, we averaged around 8hrs driving per day. That’s a lot for me. There were a couple days where it seemed that we were in that car for too long and not making any progress. Then you start getting discouraged. This is the way it was when I could literally see progress being made, it just FELT like I wasn’t. Oftentimes in a trial, you have no way of knowing or seeing movement out of that storm - which of course exacerbates the emotional toil upon you.

He was Emotionally Exhausted

Spiritually Exhausted

They’d just seen a miracle from God with the feeding of the 5,000 plus. Jesus told them to go here! Surely they were on top of all those things, Spiritually exhausted as well.

Church let me point something else out - they went from being part of a miracle, to being stuck in a storm. But before the miracle they endured the death of John the Baptist. THIS IS THE WAY LIFE IS! You will experience great highs and terrible lows throughout your life - and one of the main reasons for depression and angst and issues such as that is because we base our attitude and mindset on our circumstances. If you want stability in your life it has to be found in something else besides your circumstances, or else you’ll never get it.

He were Spiritually Exhausted

Now that we’ve examined the situation, let’s backup and get a few things straight. First off, these men – Peter in particular – had Favor with the LORD

II. He Had Favor with the LORD

Psa. 5:12 “For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; With favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”

Psa. 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: The Lord will give grace and glory: No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”

If anybody would have had favor with Jesus, it’d have to be these men. Look at some of the things about them:

His Life was Centered in Jesus

Consider when Jesus called Peter by the sea of Galilee. Matthew 4:18-20 “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.”

From that day forward, he followed the LORD. That was his life. It wasn’t like he was ‘born again’ and then went to church a few days a week – no, he lived with Christ! He followed Christ! Jesus said let’s go to Jerusalem, they went. Jesus said ‘let’s go to Bethany’, he went. He was with Jesus continually!

Church let me ask you - what’s at the center of your life? What entity does your world revolve around?

For some it’s their kids

For some it’s their job

For some it’s themselves

For the Christian, our world should revolve around God and the Things of God. That should be the center of our lives - for a few reasons:

It’s reasonable: Rom. 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

We’re bought with a price: 1Cor. 6:20 “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Peter had Favor with the LORD because his life was centered around Jesus

He Was Sent by Jesus

Matthew tells us in: Matthew 10:2-5a “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent forth...”

Jesus sent forth twelve people here called His apostles, Matthew notes ‘the first was Simon Peter’. They were given a commission by Christ Himself! What a special thing to be given a commission by the LORD! (Ill.) You know, if your boss called you and said ‘I need you to do this thing for me’, many of you would be honored that a man in such a position would ask YOU to do something FOR HIM – HOW MUCH GREATER IS IT WHEN IT’S GOD! Guess what: He did! Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Peter had favor with the LORD, demonstrated by him being sent by Jesus

He Was a Servant of Jesus

Just prior to this, we see the feeding of the 5,000 plus. We learned that there, just as today & in times past, Jesus used men to accomplish His Will. Matthew 14:19 “And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

These men, Peter in particular – didn’t shun their duty. God wasn’t mad at them because they were lazy servants. They labored for the LORD.

Peter had favor with the LORD because he was a servant of the LORD

Not only did He have Favor with the LORD, but He Followed the Direction of the LORD – they were Obedient disciples

III. He Followed the Direction of the LORD (v22-23)

These disciples were begin obedient. They were following what Jesus told them.

Jesus Constrained Them to Go (v22)

As I explained on Wednesday, once we see what the disciples experienced, it’s important to understand that it was Jesus’ bidding that put them there. Constrained (def) to necessitate:—compel, constrain.

Every time we go through troubles, oftentimes we blame Satan – and the problem with that is that when we are convinced that it’s Satan then our focus goes to simply enduring the trial – when our focus should be in learning from the trial.

Trials serve a purpose. Several things can be gleaned from trials:

A deeper relationship with the LORD

To learn to trust in Him more

To grow our Faith, Patience and Persistence

So, whenever you are experiencing trials, be sure to ask yourself ‘What can I GLEAN from this? Or ‘What can I GAIN from this?’

They were in the trial because Jesus constrained them to. Jesus wanted more for them!

But consider this as well… although Jesus constrained them to go, Jesus committed Himself to prayer!

Jesus Committed Himself to Prayer (v23)

What do you think Jesus was praying for? I believe He was praying for them! We know that Jesus has testified that He’s prayed for Peter in particular later on: Luke 22:31-32a “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not:...”

Jesus prayed for Peter! He desired for him to succeed! He wanted the best for him!

Church I want you to know something emphatically: You’re going to go through trials, BUT YOU HAVE A FRIEND IN JESUS! YOU’VE GOT SOMEONE WHO WILL PRAY FOR YOU! THERE’S SOMEONE WHO CARES FOR YOU, WHO LOVES YOU! He’ll never leave nor forsake you! He’ll stick closer than a brother!

And so, Peter had Favor with the LORD, Peter Followed the direction of the LORD – and he Found Himself in a Trial. Now through the trial, one thing that we see is that he was Frightened, but not Forsaken

IV. He was Frightened, but not Forsaken (v23-25)

Read v23-25

He was Confused

Notice here what it says in v26: Matthew 14:26 “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.” They didn’t recognize Jesus!

I can tell you that I know that I’ve experienced it, and I’ve seen it before. Sometimes when you’re physically, emotionally, Spiritually drained, you have a hard time recognizing God!

Peter was frightened, but he wasn’t Forsaken! He was Confused, but not Cast Away!

But not Cast Away

While they may have had a hard time recognizing the LORD, the fact of the matter was that the LORD was there!

Church I want you to see something today – before they were ever in the trial Jesus was praying! When they were in the midst of the trial, Jesus is there!

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

John 14:18 “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

Church, you may be going through a trial – you may be hurting, you may be struggling, but rest assured that if you’re His child, He is there for you – He is praying for you – don’t turn your back on the LORD!

(Ill.) Demonstrate one being next to another - yet the other has their back turned. You do not experience the same level of comfort if you don’t acknowledge or respond to the help that is present. Psa. 46:1.

Peter was Frightened, but he wasn’t Forsaken

And so, Peter had Favor with the LORD, Peter Followed the direction of the LORD – and he Found Himself in a Trial. In the trial he was Frightened, but not Forsaken – but I want you to see: Peter was Fearless when Focused on Jesus!

V. He was Fearless when Focused on Jesus (v27)

Once Peter knew it was Jesus, he wasn’t focused on the storm anymore! Peter focused on Jesus and what followed was nothing short of miraculous! First we see he Made a Request

He Made a Request (v28)

He wasn’t focused on the storm anymore, and He was seeking something miraculous from the LORD! He was looking to the LORD!

He Performed a Miracle (v29)

Peter walked on water! (Have you ever done that?) We’re talking something truly miraculous here!

And we’re seeing it happen in the midst of a trial!

Church, I believe fully that the more we learn about Jesus, the more comfort we will experience. The more stability we’ll have. Mat. 11:27-30 “All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

I want you to know that even in the darkest of times, in the midst of the storm, the struggles, the heartache, God can and will work miracles as long as you are focused on Jesus instead of your circumstances!

Peter was Fearless when Focused on Jesus, BUT – he Fell when he Fixated on other things

VI. He Fell when Fixated on Other Things

Peter Sank when He Lost Focus (v30)

Mat. 14:30a “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, ...”

So while Peter was focused on Christ, he saw and did miraculous things! EVEN IN THE MIDST OF A STORM! But when he focused on his circumstances, he faltered.

Conclusion

Church, the ‘moral of the story’ if you will is that when you find yourself in the storm:

Seek how you can learn from it

Focus on Jesus, and experience the miraculous!

If we read on, even though Peter faltered, Jesus was there to save him! Matthew 14:30-31 “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

Church it is a matter of faith - where are you putting your trust?

Psalm 37:24 “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.”

Are you in a storm church? Do the waves and the wind have you struggling? Look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2) focus on Him and be blessed!