One of the things that made this such a dreadful storm was that it had strong winds, and it was over three hundred miles wide.
Florida was blessed, because it came up to the coast line and made a turn. When South Carolina was told to “Watch out”, because the storm was heading in their direction, the largest evacuation in the state was carried out. It caused such a traffic problem, it took some folks 12 to 13 hours to travel only a hundred miles.
Before it reached the shores, God graciously allowed the storm to turn, and not come inland. Even though hurricane Floyd caused a flood in this country, it could have been a lot worse.
It is good that we live in an age when we have the technology that allows us to see storms coming, and to be prepared for them before they reach us.
But in this life, we not only face PHYSICAL STORMS, we also face SPIRITUAL STORMS. It is not the national weather bureau that warns us of the danger of these spiritual storms, it is the WORD OF GOD!
The disciples encountered a PHYSICAL STORM and a SPIRITUAL STORM at the same time. They were on a boat when a dreadful storm came. It was so bad, that these experienced fishermen thought that they were all going to a watery grave that day. But the Lord appeared before these FEARFUL DISCIPLES, and when He was finished with them, these FEARFUL DISCIPLES became the PEACEFUL DISCIPLES.
As we face the storms of life, WHAT WOULD WE DO IF WE DID NOT HAVE THE LORD TO TURN TOO?
We would have to do the same thing the lost world does, and turn to DRUGS and ALCOHOL to cope with life.
The only problem with their solutions is that their solutions are no solutions at all. When they get sober, they not only still have the problem that drove them to drink or to take drugs, they now have other problems that are related to their taking drugs or drinking.
As these disciples faced this deadly storm, notice three things that the Lord dealt with:
I. HE DEALT WITH THEIR FEAR
Look at their fear in verses 47-50. We read, “And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, BE OF GOOD CHEER: IT IS I; BE NOT AFRAID.”
WHY WOULD HE TELL THEM NOT TO BE AFRAID? It was obvious that the ship was about to sink, why shouldn’t they be afraid?
A. BECAUSE HE IS GREATER THAN THE STORM
That is, the Lord never once looked at the storm and said, “I think I can whip it, I hope I can whip it!” He knew that all he had to say to that storm, was, “Peace be still”, and that storm would become calm.”
Illus: When hurricane Floyd was raging as a category 5 storm, all the Lord would have had to say to that storm was, “Settle down!”, and that storm would have settled down instantly!”
The reason He told them “BE OF GOOD CHEER: IT IS I; BE NOT AFRAID”, was because He knew He was greater than the storm. The only problem was, the disciples didn’t know that. They should have, but they didn’t!
When we allow our STORMS to become GREATER than the God we serve, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
The Bible tells us that the disciples were doing everything they knew to do to save themselves, but all their efforts were inadequate. But notice something, Jesus comes walking on the water, walking on the very thing that brought fear to the disciples.
Look at verse 48, we read, “And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.”
There is a song that goes like this, “Our God is an awesome God!” THAT HE IS!
Isaiah describes His “awesomeness”. Look at Isaiah 40:12, we read, “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?”
Job describes His power as well. Look at Job 9:5 12. “Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not. Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?”
OUR GOD IS INDEED AN AWESOME GOD!
I can assure you that as we face the storms of life, there are times we are OUT OF CONTROL. But I can also assure you, there never is, nor has there ever been, a time when He was OUT OF CONTROL!
HE DEALT WITH THEIR FEARS and told them not to be afraid, because He is GREATER than the storm they faced. But He also told them not to be afraid-
B. BECAUSE HE HAS A PLAN FOR THE STORM
Look at verse 45. We read, “And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.”
At no time did the Lord look up and say, “Oh no! A storm is coming, and I sent them into the midst of it!”
Illus: The Lord is not like these weathermen who say, “There is a 50% chance of showers tomorrow.” They can’t lose.
• If it rains, they say, “I told you it was a 50% chance it might rain.”
• If it does not rain, they can say, “I told you it was a 50% chance it might not rain.”
These weathermen can only make predictions. They only look at conditions, and say that the last time the conditions were like this, these are the kind of results we got. This is why they will say, “There is a 30% chance of rain tomorrow”. It is because they really don’t know for sure.
The Lord knew that there was a 100% chance that the storm was coming, and He knew how big a storm it would be. He dealt with their FEARS by telling them not to be afraid, because He had a purpose in that storm coming.
And the same thing is true with us. Every storm we face, we can rest assured that the Lord knew it was going to come. Before it came to us, the Lord had a purpose in its coming.
Often, when we face the storms of life, we wonder if we are in the will of God. But those disciples were in the will of God in the midst of that storm, as much as they were in carrying out the great commission.
We all need to beware of these preachers, who tell us we can know we are in the will of God because things always work out well for us. They do not know a thing about the will of God, and more than likely, they do not know the God of this Bible.
God allows storms to come our way to help us realize that God is God of THE MOUNTAINS, but He is also GOD OF THE VALLEYS!
In Romans 8:28, we read “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
He DEALT WITH THEIR FEARS and told them not to be afraid…
• BECAUSE THE LORD IS BIGGER THAN THE STORMS WE FACE
• BECAUSE THE LORD HAS A PURPOSE IN THE STORMS WE FACE
But He told them not to be afraid for another reason-
C. BECAUSE STORMS COME AND STORMS GO
Look at verse 51. We read, “And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.”
Illus: We all should have the same attitude towards storms that we have toward grandchildren. The reason they call them grandchildren is because, “It is grand to see them come, and it is grand to see them go!”
One of the grand things about the Christian life, is that, “We face severe storms every now and then, but those storms that come into our lives also disappear!”
The Lord decided the lesson that needed to be taught had been taught, and the Bible says, “And he went up unto them into the ship; and the WIND CEASED…” As we face these storms in life, we can rest assured that God is going to help us through every one of them
In 1 Cor. 10:13, we read, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
NEVER FORGET! The storm that you are in today, or the one you may face tomorrow, did not come to stay. One day, God is going to tell the storm in your life, “Storm, cease as of now!” The storm is going to settle down, and you are going to discover a quietness you have never experienced before.
In the midst of these storms, we sometimes find ourselves living in fear. But did you know, that sometimes after the storm has passed, we can look back and laugh?
Illus: Four ministers were driving to a Bible conference. As they were traveling through central Ohio, their journey was suddenly interrupted by a loud "bang!" The driver hit the brakes, and struggled to keep the car from swerving toward the shoulder of the road and possibly down a hill. After he successfully brought the car to a stop, all four men got out to see which tire had blown. Their concern turned to laughter, when the driver sheepishly pointed to the spare, mounted on the rear of the car. It was the blowout!
Their fear resulted from a wrong conclusion.
The Lord Jesus, DEALT WITH THEIR FEARS by telling them not to be afraid. He was there to help them. Also-
II. HE DEALT WITH THEIR FAITH
Many times, we think only children are afraid of the dark, but sometimes the roughest looking, and the toughest man in the county, can be so afraid that his knees begin to shake.
Illus: During World War II, a military governor met with General George Patton in Sicily. When he praised Patton highly for his courage and bravery, the general replied, "Sir, I am not a brave man -- the truth is, I am an utter craven coward. I have never been within the sound of gunshot or in sight of battle in my whole life that I wasn't so scared that I had sweat in the palms of my hands."
I want to remind you that these were experienced fisherman. But when the Lord came to the disciples, walking upon the water, they thought He was a spirit, and they almost went berserk! What a comfort it must have been, when they recognized His voice. Because then they knew that help had arrived.
When Jesus got there, He quickly identified Himself unto the disciples. He said, "It is I" This is an Emphatic Personal Pronoun A statement of identification.
Illus: It is like Jesus saying, “Hey fellows, why are you afraid. I am greater than the storm you are facing, THE GREAT I AM IS HERE!”
He was reminding those men of who He is.
Illus: We use to sing the Chorus with these words,
“Got any rivers you think are uncrossable.
Got any mountains you can’t tunnel though.
God specializes in things thought impossible
And He will do what no other can do.”
How fortunate we are to serve such a wonderful God.
And as we face the midst of the storm, he says:
• Matt. 28:20b “...lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
• Heb. 13:5b “...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Illus: When the Lord says that He will not forsake us, the term literally means that He won't run out on us when the chips are down. You can trust Him, He is present to help.
Illus: He is:
1. Jehovah Jireh The Lord Is There - Gen. 22:8,14
2. Jehovah El Olam The Everlasting God - Gen. 21:33
3. Jehovah Shalom The Lord Our Peace - Judges 6:24
4. Jehovah Tsaba The Lord Of Hosts - 1 Sam. 1:3
5. Jehovah Tsidkenu The Lord Our Righteousness -Jer.23:6
6. Jehovah Shammah The Lord Is There - Ezek. 48:35
7. Jehovah Nissi The Lord Our Banner - Ex. 17:15
8. Elshaddai - Almighty God - Ex. 3:3
All we need to do is place our Faith in the God who loves and cares for us. HE DEALT WITH THEIR FEARS, and HE DEALT WITH THEIR FAITH, but also-
III. HE DEALT WITH THEIR FUTURE
These disciples were like many of God’s children today, they had a very bleak outlook on life. Look at these verses one more time. In 48-50, we read, “And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.”
They were convinced that they were all going to a watery grave, until the Lord Jesus appeared.
He showed them that he was not wanting them to DIE FOR HIM, He was wanting them to LIVE FOR HIM! We can see that HE DEALT WITH THEIR FUTURE in verse 45. We read, “And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.”
Notice, he used these words when He told them to get into the ship, He said, “…And go to the other side…”
It does not matter how much that storm might blow, that ship could not have sunk for anything in this world. Why? Before it ever left shore, the Lord said it was going to the other side.
He said "Be not afraid" Present Active Imperative, literally "Stop fearing now, and never fear anything else ever again!" He is able to help us in all the storms of life.
Conclusion:
When the storms of life are raging, always remember that Jesus is there for you. He longs to comfort your heart, and to replace your fears with His perfect peace.
So often, we are like the man who had to cross a river of ice. He was afraid it was thin ice and it might cave in. He began to crawl on his stomach, inch by inch, and almost got to the other side, when a man came by him riding a sled. He then realized that all his fears were in vain. It will be the same for us. One day we will see the Lord Jesus in all His greatness, and we will realize that all our worries were in vain.
I want to leave you with this verse of Scripture. The psalmist said in Psalm 56:3, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”
The best place to be in the midst of a hurricane is in the eye. In the midst of the storm, there is a stillness and quietness that is unbelievable. God wants us to find that quietness!
I. HE DEALT WITH THEIR FEARS
II. HE DEALT WITH THEIR FAITH
III. HE DEALT WITH THEIR FUTURE
Note: You can hear Dr. Odell Belger preach on Youtube. Go to Youtube and type in the word Lykesland
