Don't Waste Your Storms

Title: Don’t waste your storms

Text: Mark 4:35-41

Introduction

Verse for the week

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

God works all things out for our good

God works in the good things and in the bad things

In all things =in the joys of life and in the storms of life

God works them all out for our good

Our goal Today: Is to leave here better knowing how God uses the storms of our life to work them out for our good.

What can I learn from the storms of this week?

Text: Mark 4:35-41

“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 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?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this?” Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

•God can easily stop any storms from ever happening in our lives.

•If he can stop a storm as it happens he can just as easily stop it before it happens

•In Matthews account it says that “Without warning a furious storm came up on the lake“

•When we hear the words “without warning” we understand that to mean that nobody saw it coming.

•But God is all knowing so without warning doesn’t apply to God

•He sees everything coming

•He knows everything that is going to happen before it happens!

Therefore Jesus set the disciples up!

It was his idea to get into the boat and cross over to the other side

Illustration: Insurance claim on the boat: Cause of damage “An act of God”

•So God permitted this storm to happen

And if God permits something to happen He permits it for a reason

Title: Don’t waste your storms!

Write this title down somewhere where you can see it from time to time

What do I mean by don’t waste your storms?

We waste our storms when…

we don’t let God work in them to bring about our good and his purpose.

I want you to notice two things from our text that shows us how we can easily waste our storms

1.We will waste our storms if we don’t see them as opportunities to test our faith.

Notice what Jesus said to his disciples after the storm was over;

The first thing he says after things returned to normal

Jesus said to his disciples “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?

So the storm was set up by Jesus as an opportunity to test the faith of the disciples.

The disciples badly failed the test of faith.

They got an F

How come they failed the test of faith?

Their faith was sunk by their fear.

We know this because Jesus said to them “Why are you so afraid?”

This begs the question: Is it ever wrong to be so afraid of something?

After all there are lots of times when it’s completely natural to be afraid…

Every one of us would have behaved the same way the disciples did…

Is it ever wrong to be so afraid of something?

It’s never wrong for me to be so afraid of something when Jesus says its ok

This begs another question:

Are there certain areas in life that Jesus says “Yes in these certain areas it’s ok for us to be so afraid?

•Is it ok by Jesus for us to be so afraid of dying?

“For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain…”

Luke records in his gospel that after the storm Jesus also said to his disciples

“Where is your faith?”

So Storms also show what our faith is really in

Is our faith really in God or is our faith really in something else?

There is a way to tell if our faith is really in God.

When our faith is really in God then we can do the same thing Jesus is doing

Did Jesus not say that if we had faith in him we can do the same things we see him doing?

What was Jesus doing as the storm was raging?