Sermon Central
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Living Above The Storm - Mark 4
Contributed by Ty Tamasaka on Dec 11, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: When it comes to following Jesus it’s not always an EASY TRIP. In this message we are going to learn three lessons for living above the storms.
1 – Take Jesus as He is.
2 – Trust His Word.
3 – Don't be in awe of the storm but in the One who calms the storm.
1 – Take Jesus as He is…
Jesus is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He is God. Take Jesus as He is.
• ? Not as we wish He was.
• ? Not as others present Him.
• ? Not as you see Him in the lives of others.
• Jesus Christ is the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and Great I am. He is the third person of the Trinity. He is God and He requires our everything.
Being in the church for a while, I have heard many people teach the idea of having vertical alignment or the idea that God is to be our first priority, followed by our spouse, kids, then work, and ministry. While I understand the concept, and I recognize it can be a helpful illustration for some people, I don’t think God ever intended His people to place Him as first on a list of many competing priorities. I have been learning in the last few years that LIVING ABOVE THE STORM means not placing God first in your life – BUT PLACING HIM IN EVERYTHING.
When I made the commitment to marry Laura, I didn’t only make a commitment to her, I also made a commitment to forsake all others for her. In no way did I commit to her that she would be my number one priority followed by other options. She would not be happy if I told her, “Hey, Laura, I am committed to you. I love you. I am placing you first in my life. You are my number one!” and then turned to her friend and said, “But, Kelly here, she will be my number two. I’m committed to giving Laura the first and best of my love, attention, and care … then I’ll give some to Kelly … because she is my number two! You will always be my number one, but she will be my number two.”
If I were ignorant enough to communicate that to her (which, thankfully, I am not), I’m confident Laura would have shot me before we even reached the altar! Why? It is simple. When we entered into marriage, Laura didn’t want me to put her first in my life and have others placed as second, third, or fourth! She wanted to be my all and everything, and rightly so. The commitment I made when I married Laura was not that she would be the first priority in my life followed by a list of others. Rather, my commitment to her was that I would be totally and completely set apart for her.
As with my wife and I, God doesn’t want first place in your life. He wants to be your center and everything. He wants you to be totally and completely set apart for Him. I’ve recently heard about a phenomenon called the Titanic myth. The Titanic was called the unsinkable ship before its maiden voyage. Why? The Titanic was the first ship designed in a new, innovative design of a compartmentalized hull that was said to be unsinkable. Prior to Titanic, other ships were built with one big empty hull. If the ship ran into an iceberg or a rock, the hole in the hull would cause the ship to take on water and inevitably sink. The makers of the Titanic came up with the idea of compartmentalizing the hull so that if the ship were to hit a rock or iceberg, that compartment of the ship could be closed off from other portions of the hull. Theoretically, the ship could take on water in a certain number of compartments and still not sink.
