With Jesus in the midst of the storm

2^nd Sunday before Lent (7^th February 2010)

Theme: With Jesus in the midst of the storm

Text: Luke 8: 22-25

 

The story that you have just heard in our Gospel reading is also found in Matthew 8: 23-27 and Mark 4: 35-41. The sea referred to in this story is the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a lake.  Although the Sea of Galilee is about 5 miles wide and 13 miles long it has a history of terrible storms.   The fierce storms were often due to the geographical nature of the area. The Sea of Galilee is six hundred feet below sea level and it is surrounded by mountains.  When the cold air from the mountain tops meets the warm air of the basin great storms will occur. It can happen at any time during the day. And it is dangerous for a small boat to be in the midst of the lake when this happen because the strong wind can create waves as high as 20 feet. That was the situation when Jesus and the disciples set out across the Sea of Galilee.

It could have been one of those long days of ministry for Jesus, and big crowd of people were coming to be ministered by him. So as the day drew to a close Jesus suggested that they sailed to the other side of the lake.  The disciples in obedience to his command hoisted the sail and begin the five mile trip across the lake. And as they sailed, Jesus moved to the stern of the boat, where he fell into a deep sleep.  Then all of a sudden they found themselves in the midst of a terrible storm.  Matthew uses the word seismos (literally earthquake) to describe the storm.

This morning we are going to look at some principles drawn from this story in our message.  You can follow my sharing using the main-points in the newsletter:   

1. Sometimes we will face storms In our lives (vv. 22-23).  One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. ²³As 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.

We all like peace and we do our best to ensure that troubles don’t come upon us.   But our Gospel story this morning tells us that trouble can come upon us while we are seeking peace and tranquility.  Jesus invited the disciples to cross over to the other side of the lake to get away from the crowd and to find rest.  So on that fine evening they sailed over the calm sea.  Then all of a sudden the placid lake became a raging sea.

The whole point of the story is that storms happen.  Sometimes the storms in our lives came about because of our own stupidity or our sin. Sometimes they are caused by our own bad decisions.  Other times they may be caused by the actions of someone else.  At times they just seem to happen and we have no idea why. 

2. When we are in a storm we may think that we are out of God’s will.  There are people who think that life with Jesus will be smooth sailing.  They say that if we do not follow God we shall experience storms and misfortunes. There are people who go around teaching a theology that every trouble and sickness is associated with the absence of Jesus.  That is simply not true and it is not biblical.  Our lesson this morning clearly tells us that even though Jesus was in the boat with the disciples, they were still struck by a raging storm.  And Jesus has said in Matthew 5 that God “makes the sun rise on both good and bad people.  And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong.” 

Even when believers follow Christ’s bidding, they may face hardships.  Remember it was not the disciples’ decision to go across the lake.  It was Jesus who made the suggestion. The disciples were only carrying out the will of Jesus: and yet they were faced with a dreadful storm, even in danger of drowning.  One very clear thing that we can learn from this story is that you can be right in the centre of God’s will and yet you will face a storm. That was what the disciples discovered.  Notice that the disciples were in the midst of a storm not because they had disobeyed, but because they had obeyed.  They are now learning that obedience to Christ is no guarantee of being spared adversity.

So when we make our decision to follow Jesus, it guarantees that he will ask us to do something risky. In fact, following Jesus involves risk and danger.  Some Christians think that God will never ask them to do something they can’t do. But the Bible has many stories about God giving his servants assignments that were always risky.  In fact if the assignments are always things we can handle, they are probably not from God.

As preachers, it is very tempting for us to tell people that Christian life is easy, and if you give yourselves to Jesus, you will always have wonderful moments with God. But that is not the truth. The truth is that following Christ is sometimes risky and dangerous; and sometimes he leads you right into a storm.  The disciples didn’t know this: they only discovered this truth when they started to be involved in the ministry.   They came to learn that without difficulties, without trials, without stresses and even failures, they would never grow to be what the Lord wants them to become.

The lesson is this: without adversity, we can never test our faith in Jesus.  Without problems and suffering we would think highly of ourselves; assuming that we are faithful, loving, patient.  Those assumptions have to be tested by the storms we have to go through before they can be trusted.  

3. When we are in a storm we may think that God doesn’t care.  The parallel account in Mark 4:38 tells us that Jesus “… was in the stern, asleep on a pillow:” Jesus was tired and he needed rest and sleep. But the disciples thought that he was unconcerned about their plight. 

The toughest storms to endure in life are the ones in which we feel that God is asleep. While we are in the midst of a crisis of one form or another, it seems that Jesus is not interested or concerned with what we are going through.  The storm is raging around but God is nowhere to be found. He’s not reacting to our problem. And when we feel like that it is hard to be patient and wait on God to do something in his time.

Another lesson that we can learn from here is that God has never promised our lives would be empty of pain, disappointment, or storms.  Anyone who tells you that if you believe in Jesus life will always be fine and free of problems is not teaching the truth of the Bible.  When the disciples were in a storm, Jesus was with them in the storm.  But they thought he did not care about them.  Likewise, when we go through problems, suffering and pain in life, we may also think that Jesus doesn’t care.  The fact is that Jesus is right there with us.   

4.  When we are in a storm we may react in fear rather than in faith (v. 24).  They disciples must have worked hard in order to keep the boat headed into the wind. They knew that the next wave could have sunk the boat.  They were in panic when they woke up Jesus.

As to what they said, their words differ slightly from one gospel account to another. Matthew records that the disciples cry out, “Lord, save us we are perishing” (8:25) which seems to be a cry for help.  In our text from Luke they are recorded as having said, “Master, Master, we are perishing” (v. 24) seems to be a statement of eminent doom.  In Mark the record is that they say, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing.” (4:38) which seems to be a rebuke of Jesus lack of action.  All those words could have been said, and probably more.

But they tell us one thing: that faith can be paralyzed by fear.  The disciples were afraid that all of them would die.   In reality their problem was not the storm around them, it was the unbelief within them.  They thought too much about the problem and had too little trust in God’s provision.  This is what fear does in our lives.  It maximizes the problem and minimizes God’s provision and presence.

5. When we are in a storm we need to remember to cry out to the Father.  To cry out is to assume that there is a God who cares and who not only cares but acts.  There are people who assumed that God created the world, and then left it on its own. Such people find it hard to believe in this story: that Jesus could actually fight against the forces of nature.  But we believe that our God is the Lord of his creation, who is still working within his creation.  That is why we can still call upon him: we believe that Jesus works outside the limitation of the natural laws.   That is why Christians pray and ask for God’s miracles.

And it is not only that: because when we cry out to God, it is an admission of our own weakness.  When the disciples woke up Jesus from his sleep, they were basically admitting that they were powerless to do anything about the storm on their own and they needed help. And you know that is all it often takes to get Jesus to react to a situation, a simple admission that we need him. If it had taken so long for Jesus to calm the storm was because it took the disciples so long to call on him. The disciples, at first, probably thought they could handle the situation on their own. It was only when they ran out of option that they called upon Jesus to help them.

And isn’t that the way we often handle our problems or plan our Church activities? We try to do it on our own, refusing to ask Jesus to help. Last Sunday I mentioned that it is easy to fall into the temptation of wanting to do, envision, plan, organize, and promote activities, and when we have run out of ideas we call upon God to help and bless us.  It is only after we encounter dead end that we finally admit that we are weak and powerless, when in fact we should have realize it much earlier.  The disciples should have woken Jesus when the threatening clouds begin to form in the distance, instead of waiting for the storm to strike. Jesus should not be our last minute solution: he must always be the first option.

6. When in a storm, faith will keep us from being afraid (v. 24-25).   “He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.

Jesus is unconcerned about the storm, the wind and the raging sea, but he is concerned about his frightened disciples. The storm was necessary for the spiritual development of the disciples, and so was the ensuing calm that was about to come. 

I want you to notice some significant characteristics of how easily Jesus over came the storm.  First, notice how Jesus that commanded the storm to cease: he speaks and it is done.  Second, normally it will take time for the waves to subside, even though the winds may have died down. But here the result was immediate calm.  

7. We disappoint the Lord when we give in to fear (v. 25a).  Jesus addresses His disciples and asks, “Where is your faith?”  Jesus was not disturbed by the storm.  It was the unbelief of his disciples. Jesus knows that in our fear, we can forget all that God has done for us in the past.

So as the disciples tried to understand what was happening, their fear of the storm was replaced by a new fear. Verse 25 says, “In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."  Mark he uses two different Greek words to describe the fear of the disciples.  When the storm came upon them Mark says, “They were afraid”.  But after Jesus stilled the wind and the waves he says that “they feared exceedingly” (4: 41).  Bad circumstances may make us afraid and worried. But an encounter with God or his divine power will cause us to feel a great sense of awe.  That is the fear that is largely absent today: people are more fearful of other things than they are of God.     

These are some of the lessons to learn from the gospel story this morning:

i).         The storms in our lives have a purpose: they reveal the depth or strength of our faith. That is why James 1: 2-3 says this: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

ii)         It is at such times that we face a three-fold challenge:

We can choose to worry, but we all know that worry changes nothing.

We can work harder and harder until we see that there is nothing more we can do.

We can come before the Lord in faith, and ask for his help.  I am sure you are all familiar with the words in 1 Peter 5:7: “Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking of you and watching everything that concerns you”.