While You Were Sleeping
Mark 4:35-41 35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" 41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
Intro: Things are not always as they appear, are they? Have you ever been 100% sure of something, so certain that you would swear on the graves of all your ancestors, only to find out in just seconds that you had been missing a BIG part of the picture? I have shared this story before, but thought it worth repeating as a rough poem.
-About 20 years ago while we were pastoring in North Dakota, I was working on a construction crew, helping build a bridge. We did concrete work, set forms, wired rebar in place, and so on. Well, ND may be cold in the winter, but it can get really hot in the summer, easily surpassing 100 degrees at times.
-My wife used to cut up watermelon and cantaloupe and put them in square Tupperware containers and freeze them. I would take them in my lunchbox and by break time, the fruit would be thawed, but still be very cold, juicy, and refreshing. Well, one day I had an unforgettable experience. This experience was so memorable to me that I put it down in the form of a poem. So if you will indulge me, I am going to read some poetry about mixed fruit.
'Twas a typical work day as I packed my lunch,
I inhaled my toast and some Cap'n Crunch.
I guzzled my coffee, then kissed my honey,
Then off to the bridge to make some money.
The boss worked us hard in that mid-morning sun
I was glistening with labor and I wished I was done,
The minutes dragged by and the boss was a brute
But my heart was set on my fresh bowl of fruit.
As break time drew nearer, intense was the heat,
I could picture that fruit so juicy and sweet,
When the boss yelled, "It's break time," I let out a hoot,
And ran for my lunchbox in search of that fruit.
As I opened my lunch, prepared for a treat,
I thought of the fruit so juicy and sweet,
With fork poised for action, not a moment to waste
I opened that fruit bowl its morsels to taste.
Then what did my wondering eyes chance to greet
But a big juicy lump of raw hamburger meat.
With a cautious side glance I put it away.
I guess I don't get my sweet melon today.
Now as I look back on this humorous scene,
I search for a moral, a lesson to glean,
And all I can find from lack of another
Is don't judge what's inside by its plastic cover.
-So, sometimes we are pretty sure we know something, but with a little change of perspective, reality changes before our eyes. Sometimes we might start to think that God does not see us and does not know what we are going through. Or, maybe we think He is asleep on the job. Sometimes we might even think that He does not care that we are on our last leg and are about ready to be drowned by our circumstances.
-We may think we know what is in the container, but unlike my experience, we might think it is something bad, when indeed the Lord is working good into us through our trials and our storms! So we might even start to avoid God and the way He is working in our lives because, as we see it, He either wouldn’t or couldn’t keep problems away from us.
-Well, let’s take a moment to look at a few key points from this story we just read about the disciples of Jesus facing their storm. Hopefully, these thoughts will help us face our own storms in life. And that is the first point.
1. Storms of life will come.
-You can count on it! Trouble will find you, whether you are looking for it or not! Jesus promised His followers, “In this world you will have trouble.”
-You may have experienced trouble with your health. Maybe you’ve had to learn to live with sickness or pain. Maybe you’ve had trouble with addictions. Maybe you are struggling in your relationships. Perhaps people have betrayed you, abused you, or abandoned you. No matter what your name is or how smart or charming or nice looking you are, trouble will (and probably has) come your way. And in the middle of that trouble you may start to wonder if anyone really knows how bad it is for you, and if anyone really cares! The difference between those who weather these storms well and those who don’t depends largely on a person’s willingness to hang in there and keep on trying, which, by the way, is pretty hard to do alone.
2. Storms will test our faith.
-If you are a person of faith and believe that there is a God and that He loves you and wants to do life with you, then this idea of having our faith tested might mean something to you. However, if you don’t consider yourself to be a person of faith in the sense of being religious or going to church, your faith will still be tested.
-See, everybody trusts in something. I came across a story about a Department of Water Resources representative who stopped at a Texas ranch to talk with an old rancher. He told the rancher, "I need to inspect your ranch for your water allocation."
The old rancher says, "Okay, but don't go in that field over there."
The Water representative says, "Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me. See this card? This card means I am allowed to go WHEREVER I WISH on any agricultural land. No questions asked or answered. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand?"
The old rancher nods politely and goes about his chores.
Later, the old rancher hears loud screams and sees the Water Rep running for his life. And close behind is the rancher's bull. The bull is gaining with every step.
The Rep is clearly terrified, so the old rancher immediately throws down his tools, runs to the fence and yells at the top of his lungs,
"Your card! Show him your card!" [Source: jokes2008.blogspot.com]
-Some trust in their position or authority, some in their strength, some in their wealth, some in their brainpower, and others in their gifts and abilities. I don’t have to be a prophet to say that whatever you are trusting in is likely going to be threatened or even snatched away from you at some point. Then you will have a choice. Either give up or take another look at what you are trusting in to see if it can deliver for you.
-I don’t need to have experienced all that there is to experience to know that there is only One whose trust will never be broken. Even if it seems like He is sleeping, He is completely trustworthy and will listen when we ask Him to help us. I’m talking about trusting in God’s Son, Jesus! He has never broken a promise; never gone back on His word, never bailed out on those trusting Him!
-Now let me say that if you already have a relationship with God and are trusting Him, your trust will be tested when the storms come your way. I know several of you who have lost loved ones in the past 5 years. It hurts! It is painful! In many ways it is a test of your faith when grief comes your way. I know it was for me. But like the disciples, I have to say, “Where else can I turn, Lord? If you can’t help me, then certainly nobody else can!” So, with God’s help we weather the storms, calling out to Him for help.
-That brings me to the last point this morning.
3. Having God in Your Boat will help you through the storm.
-The disciples each had a close relationship with Jesus. They knew that He could help them. That is why they woke Him up and asked if He cared that they were going to die. That teaches me a lesson: Just because we don’t see God in action does not mean that He does not care about us. What if the disciples had not awakened Jesus? Would everything have been okay? I actually think so because Jesus still had some important work to do (understatement of the age), and God wasn’t going to allow a little storm to stop His purposes from being fulfilled.
-The fact is, God invites us to come to Him with our fears and storm troubles. He offers to help us. If it seems like God is asleep, He doesn’t mind if we cry out to Him for help. However, while He is silent, we can learn faith instead of fear! We can learn to trust instead of doubting His care and concern for us.
-Some of the greatest tests of our faith occur during times when we might think that God is sleeping.
-But let me remind you of a very important fact from the Bible. Psalm 121:2-4 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
-God is never asleep on the job! But when we do not see Him responding and helping us out of our problems, we can learn to trust that He is fully aware and fully present. He is with us and promises to never abandon us! Hebrews 13:5-6 God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
-Where does your help come from? Who is in your boat to help you through the storm? You may have some great friends in your boat, but can any of them calm a storm? Your family may be real close and loving, but do any of them have the power to deliver, heal, forgive or restore? Who can help you find your purpose? Who loved you enough to die for you so you could do life with Him forever?
-The answer is that it is the same Man who was asleep in the boat that day with the disciples. He’s the One you need in your boat! He’s the One you need in your life. He forgives, He heals, He breaks addictions, He takes away the sting of our past and gives us a future! Jesus wants to be in the very center of your life.
-The great thing is that He will respond to you right now if you ask Him. If you ask Him to help you do life His way, he will come to you and forgive you and cleanse your heart and mind. He will give you a new beginning. Whoever chooses to do life with God becomes a new person on the inside. The old things go away and everything becomes new again! Who wouldn’t want that!!!
-There was a pastor from a small rural church who visited an old farmer from time to time in an attempt to share the good news of Jesus with him. Each time the farmer would tell the pastor, "I believe in God. It is impossible not to when you look around at the beauty of this earth and the way in which life is created. It’s just Jesus I don’t understand. Why would a perfect and all powerful God have to come down as a man, and then die, just to make things right." The pastor was never able to come up with an answer that the farmer found satisfactory.
-Then one night, as the farmer was sitting in his living room, he heard a thump on his window. He went to see what it was and outside he saw a group of birds floundering in the snow. They were trying to get into the warmth but they couldn’t figure out how, and so they were dying in the snow. So the farmer went outside and opened his barn doors, and turned on the lights, and tried to herd the birds into the warmth of the barn, because he realized it was their only hope of being saved. But the more he tried to direct them the more they scattered. At that point the farmer thought, if only I could become one of them then I could lead them into the warmth. At that moment, he knew he had his answer and he prayed and became a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus came into this world and lived life with man so man could do life with God.
-As we finish our worship service, maybe you need to invite God into your boat today. You’ve tried to do life without Him, but it hasn’t gone real well for you. Maybe you tried God sometime in the past, but it seemed like He was too far away or was sleeping while you were going through hard times. If you will ask Him to be the leader of your life and place your trust in Him, you will find that He does come through for us! He will come through for you if you will let Him lead and you follow.
-Maybe you are facing some storms right now and just need to know that there is a God who is awake and cares about you. If so, would you wave at me? I’d like to say a prayer for you.
