STORMS BEYOND YOUR CONTROL
TEXT: Mark 4:35-41
Mark 4:35-41 KJV And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. [36] And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. [37] And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. [38] And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? [39] And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [40] And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? [41] And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
I. INTRODUCTION -- STORMS
-Every person sitting here is in one of three places. You are either in a storm, emerging from a storm, or about to enter a storm.
-Storms are just as much a fact of life as are death and taxes. By the way, storms do not respect people. They befall the rich and the poor, the young and the old and any other category in between. Storms are simply a part of life.
A. I Lost My Boat, But I Preserved My Life
An American (Ken Barnes), safely headed toward land after three days adrift, said a driving storm off the tip of South America snapped his masts and rolled his yacht, shattering his dream to make a nonstop, round-the-world voyage. "I lost my boat, but I preserved my life," Ken Barnes told a group of reporters in a radio conversation from the fishing vessel that rescued him Friday.
Barnes said his 44-foot (13-meter) ketch, Privateer, was hit with winds between 40 and 50 miles per hour and waves of about 20 to 25 feet. "The boat rolled 360 degrees. I was inside the boat, if I would have been outside, I wouldn’t be here today," he said. "But like I say, I went around with the boat as everything else did inside the boat. The batteries ended up in the sink, all the tools, the floorboards, one of them came up and broke in half."
Barnes received a long gash on his right thigh but was otherwise uninjured. The 47-year-old man from Newport Beach, California, hoped to become the first American to circumnavigate the world in a solo, nonstop voyage from the West Coast. He left Long Beach, California on October 28. He said he knew the attempt would be dangerous.
"Anybody who sails these waters knows the risk that they are taking," he said. The U.S. Coast Guard and Chilean maritime officials received signals from Barnes’ distress beacon on Tuesday, minutes after he called his girlfriend on his satellite phone to report he was in trouble. It wasn’t until Friday that the Polar Pesca 1 fishing vessel, guided by a navy plane, was able to reach Barnes.
He was some 500 miles (800 kilometers) from the western entry to the Strait of Magellan at the time of his rescue. Navy Capt. Ivan Valenzuela said Barnes’ boat, which he spent years equipping for what he expected to be a six to eight month voyage, had to be abandoned.
"It was badly damaged, its two masts broken and had also meter-high flooding," Valenzuela said. "It will probably sink very soon, and Mr. Barnes himself told us he has no interest in recovering it." After his rescue, Barnes spoke briefly to relatives gathered at his condo in Newport Beach, California.
Barnes wore a survival suit and ate Pop Tarts and granola bars while waiting to be rescued, his family said. "He was very well equipped," Valenzuela said. After the fishing boat reaches land, expected Sunday, Barnes will be flown by helicopter to Punta Arenas, Chile’s southernmost city. (AP – 1/7/07)
B. We Survive. . . But. . .
-Often we survive the storm, but the injuries stay with us for a while. The storms of life frequently come without warning:
A phone rings and a doctor asks, “Could you come to my office. . . now?”
A letter in the mail. . .
A knock on the door. . .
A phone call. . .
A severe look from the boss. . .
A clearing of the throat followed by the words, “We need to talk. . .”
-Storms can approach in velvet slippers with silent footfalls but in the end thunder roars from the steps of the storm.
II. THE STORM -- MARK 4:35-39
-Jesus had spent the day teaching. He had brought in new concepts about farming. He mentioned the different types of ground: the good, the wayside, the rocky, and the thorny ground. Little did the disciples know that a few hours later, the types of ground would be revealed when they entered the storm of their lives.
-His remarks were not that of literal farming but rather spiritual farming and he had been talking about the spiritual continents that exist within the heart of men.
-When Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount, He mentioned two men. Two men who had the same material but had different foundations. When the storm came the fool was washed away and the wise man was left standing. Not only do storms temper the character and shape the heart, they also reveal what men are made out of.
-The Lord had great abilities to take things that were inanimate and lifeless and use them for something.
He used mud to heal a blind man’s eyes.
He used a water pot to pour out wine.
He used water bucket to tell a woman about everlasting life.
One day, He allowed the ground to become a chalkboard to relieve a woman of her accusers and her sin.
-However, on this day He used a boat and it became a pulpit. He had taught from the helm of the boat apparently to a vast crowd. Other boats had anchored near His to hear His words. Now, night was approaching.
-The crickets were starting to chirp. The day was beginning to cool down. Dusk was coming and the Lord suggested that the disciples start their trek for the distant shore.
-A man in a storm and his reactions in the time of crisis will show where his faith lies. The disciples knew the dangers of the storm they just did not understand when the storm would come. On this night, the storm and the surrounding dangers were to be their teachers.
-They get on their journey a little way across and thinking that probably in an hour to an hour and a half they will be comfortably ashore on the other side. Then suddenly the storm sets in on them with the fury of a wild animal.
-They are stunned with the suddenness of its appearance. Quickly the sails are lowered, the oars are brought out and the experienced fishermen are the leaders.
Keep the boat into facing the wind.
Keep the oars in the water.
Pull together.
Keep a steady hand on the rudder.
-That was what they knew to do. . . But sometimes there are powerful storms that are beyond your control.
A. The Benefits of Storms
-What the disciples did mirrors what we do when storms settle in on us.
-Remember this: Somewhere between ordinary and exceptional is something called trouble. Skilled mariners are not made on seas of glass but rather in the teeth of the storm. A storm can develop you if you will trust in the Lord.
-Somewhere between average mediocrity and greatness is a storm. The days will be filled with gut-wrenching, nerve-twisting, sleep-stealing trouble before you ever become what you want to become and more important what God wants you to become. This is true of all occupations and professions but particularly true of the spiritual realm.
-There are no real shortcuts in life.
-If the storm is going to develop us, there are some helpful things to understand about storms.
1. A Storm Will Give You An Opportunity to Grow.
-The disciples who were fisherman (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) were very skilled at handling storms. When the storm first started they began to go through the protocols of the storm.
-Let the sails down. Keep the oars in the water. Keep a firm hand on the rudder. Keep the water out of the boat. Pick up the bucket and start bailing water.
-Sometimes men feel pretty good about what they have to rely on.
I have a good insurance plan.
I have a good job.
I have good home.
I have a good bank account.
If I get in trouble, I will just go and take care of it.
-But there comes a point when you walk the steps of Moses. The bramble isn’t much until God sets it on fire. The stick is just an ordinary thing but when God gets it, it will change into a snake. It is just a hand, until God clothes it with leprosy and then cleanses it.
-What most of us don’t realize is that if we would be willing to offer the common things to God, He would take it and use it. He would do extraordinary things with common materials.
A curious thing happens to apple trees in the great northwest. Over time these trees will put more bark on than fruit. To remedy this particular malady, orchard workers will severely prune back the apple trees. The apple tree somehow senses that its existence is in jeopardy. It will begin to bear fruit in abundant supply. Suffering and storms cause us to grow. Left to our own devices, we will always develop more bark than fruit.
-That is one of the purposes of the storm, to cause you to quit relying on ME, MINE, MY STUFF, MY THINGS, MY TALENTS. . . . . . . God simply needs us to give it to Him.
-So, one of the first things to learn in the storm is that storms give us opportunities to grow.
2. The Storm Will Draw Us Towards Another World.
-Thirteen men in the boat. One was asleep. Four others are accomplished sailors. The other eight are sitting back watching it all happen. They probably are not real worried because the four fishermen do not appear to be too worried.
-Peter and the boys will get us out of this jam. I have faith that they can get us out of this storm. They know what they are doing. I have faith that they have been here before and can see the other side.
-Sometimes we treat church like that, if the pastor is alright, if everything is comfortable, if all the other things are running smoothly, there is no real need for me to get involved. The strong saints are praying, somebody is fasting, and we have just enough of the Spirit to keep us from being just like the church down the street.
-What is needed is a storm that rattles everything. You see the skilled sailors starting to get nervous. Then you start getting a little queasy.
-When everything around you is stripped away it could be the best thing that could happen.
Jacob had the birthright, but it took a murderous brother to motivate him to use it.
Joseph had some tremendous dreams but it took a band of brutal brothers to put him on the path to greatness.
Hannah had to deal with the insults but it sent her alone into the Temple.
Moses had to be sent to the backside of the desert for forty years before God could prepare him.
Nehemiah needed to build a wall but it was the opposition of Tobiah and Sanballat that motivated him the most.
David had to be sent back to the pasture for God to teach him.
-There comes a point in the storm when you have to live off of your faith, instead of Daddy’s faith, or Mama’s faith, or Brother’s faith, or the Pastor’s faith, or somebody else’s faith. It is usually the storm that makes us gain a measure of our faith.
-Suffering keeps this world from becoming too attractive to us and causes us to look toward a Master that will lead us to a future home. Some of the greatest spirituals ever sang were penned in the strange distant country called suffering.
-The remedies that we need are not earth-bound but rather they are heavenward.
-It is what happens after or in the adversity that counts. One man has said that it is not so much what happens to us but rather what happens in us.
-Storms:
Will Give You An Opportunity to Grow.
Will Draw You to Another World.
3. The Storm Will Bring You To Your Knees.
-There came some point in the battle of the storm that the sailors figured out that their own skills could not save them, their resources could not save them. . . . . . the only thing that could save them was the Master.
-Many people want the great calm without the storm. But the great calm cannot be fully appreciated until the storm has torn us apart.
I want an anointing but no storms.
I want a prayer life but no storms.
I want a great life but no storms.
I want to know the Book but no storms.
I want to win souls but no storms.
-This sometimes is the prevailing pattern of life in where there are great successes that there are also great afflictions.
Pentecost is followed by persecution.
Peter’s sermon is followed by imprisonment.
A life flourishes and is followed by the stern adversities and setbacks of life.
The disciples experienced the greatest calm and it is followed with the overwhelming tempest.
-May I tell you that just in case you thought it might happen, it will not happen in a million years. What you need is gut-wrenching, nerve-twisting, sleep-stealing storms.
If you want the sun to stand still, you have got to be in a fight.
If you want the water to be sweet, you have to taste the bitter water first.
If you want manna, you have to get hungry.
If you want the fire to fall from heaven, you have to be surrounded by doubt and unbelief.
If you want the birds to feed you, you have to be on the run from a mad queen.
If you want the axe-head to float in the water, it has to be lost in the pond.
-There is an account of a miracle given in 2 Kings 7:3-11. A hopeless situation is told of. The city of Samaria is under attack. Not only that but one of the most fearful famines ever in the history of Israel has the people by the throat. Hunger and fear have choked their faith.
-Elisha the prophet gets up and says that God is going to supply an abundance of food. Some people sneered but in spite of their doubt God would not allow their doubt to stop the mercy from being granted.
-How it was discovered was a whole different affair. There were four out-cast, weary, roaming lepers who walked into the camp of the Hittites, who had fled the previous night in a panic because God had ran them out of the camp.
-But consider this:
If the lepers had not been lepers they would have been in the city.
If the lepers had not been the outcast of the city they would not have gotten the treasure.
If the lepers had not been roaming in wilderness they would not have found the treasure.
-Let your storm bring you to your knees. It is in that crucial place of prayer that God is so willing to do so much for His people.
Erwin Lutzer -- “God often puts us in situations that are too much for us so that we will learn that no situation is too much for Him.”
-Storms:
Will Give You An Opportunity to Grow.
Will Draw You To Another World.
Will Bring You To Your Knees.
4. The Storm Can Bring Glory To God.
-It was the storm that brought the disciples in the boat together. They weren’t too concerned with who was doing what. . . just make sure that we survive this storm.
-Storms can make us draw closer to those around us who are enduring a trial. That was one of the chief themes of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians—we comfort the hurting with the same comfort we found in the midst of our own hurt.
I know that some people are struggling.
I know that some people are having trouble.
I know that some people are having financial problems.
I know that some people are having job problems.
I know that some people are having marital problems.
I know that some people doubt what God has called them to do.
I know that some people are unable to forgive themselves even though God has.
I know that some people are having trouble with their kids.
I know that some people are having health problems.
I know that some people are struggling with depression.
I know that some people are having family problems.
-Yet in all of the storms, glory can be brought to God. . .
III. CONCLUSION -- IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL
It is a moving story that I first remember hearing on “Adventures in Odyssey” one day when I was listening with my kids. It is the story of Horatio Spafford.
In the year of 1871, tragedy struck the city of Chicago in the form of a devastating fire. Three-hundred people died and 100,000 were left homeless. Horatio Gates Spafford was one of those who tried to help the people of the city to get back on its feet. Spafford was an attorney who had invested much of his money into the downtown Chicago real estate. He lost a great deal in the fire, but he was motivated to help the homeless and grief-stricken.
After two years of grueling work, Spafford, his wife, Anna, and their four daughters were due a vacation. They decided to go to England and then travel throughout Europe. Spafford would stay behind in Chicago but would catch up with his family on the other side of the Atlantic.
Their ship never made it. Off the coast of Newfoundland, it collided with another ship and sank within twenty minutes. Anna was able to cling to a floating piece of the wreckage, but her four daughters all drowned. Later, Spafford received a horrible telegram with only two chilling words, “Saved alone.”
He boarded the next available ship to be near his grieving wife. Though reports vary when he did so, at some point near where his daughters’ lives were lost, the pain of Spafford’s overwhelming grief became the golden words to a now-famous hymn:
When peace like a river, attendeth my way;
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
He lives—O, the bliss of this glorious thought;
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Oh my soul.
And, Lord, haste the day when our faith shall be sight
The clouds be rolled back like a scroll,
The trumpet shall sound, and the Lord shall descend;
Even so, it is well with my soul. . .
-Storms will come. . . . But in the midst of the storm, there is a Savior who will let His peace prevail.
Philip Harrelson
www.barnabas14blog.blogspot.com
