The super tanker, Edmund Fitzgerald was built in 1958 at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, MI. Possessing an overall length of 729 ft. it was the largest tanker ever to sail the Great Lakes.
On Nov. 9, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald left her port in Superior, Wisconsin en route to a steel mill near Detroit.
Crossing Lake Superior at about (15 mph), the ship encountered winds in excess of (58 mph) and waves as high as 35 feet.
In the afternoon of Monday, November 10, the winds increased to a hurricane force over (70 mph). By 3:30 PM the Fitzgerald radioed in that she had minor damage, had loss of radar, had poor visibility due to snow and her two bilge pumps were running continuously to empty her hull. At 5:45 PM the Fitzgerald had seas washing over her decks and the seasoned Capt. McSorley radioed in that it was, "One of the worst seas I’ve ever been in." By 7:10 PM, the Fitzgerald was notified that a rogue wave large enough to be caught on radar was heading there way. When the wave hit her it snapped her in half like a bone and sent her 500 feet to the bottom of Lake Superior.
The Bible tells us that we will all face storms in life. But I don’t have to tell you that, I know that all of you have been through them and there is not one of you here that will never face one.
The Bible says that in this life you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 However, don’t forget it does say that we will have trouble and tribulation.
The Bible says He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matt 5:45
We will have: difficulties¸ troubles¸ trials¸ hard times¸ and problems. Facing storms is not the issue. The issue is, “Are you ready for the storm?” Are you ready for when the gale force winds cause the waves to crash over your hull? When will it come? It may not be today or tomorrow or next month, but it will come.
What I want you to know today is that the clouds will always gather overhead. The wind will always blow against you, the waves will buffet you and the storms of life will rage against you, because that is a fact of life. But the question I have for you this morning is, “Are you ready for the storm?”
We don’t know what clouds are building in the days to come or what storms are brewing out at sea for America and our way of life, but the smell of rain is in the air and the clouds are on the horizon and things will probably get tougher for many before they get better. Such was the case for Jesus’ disciples in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Though the Sea of Galilee is only 5 miles wide, its unique topography can bring on gale force winds caused by rising thermals and cold downward drafts.
As the disciples made their way across the Sea, we are told that a squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. v.23 In Matthew’s eyewitness account he uses the word seismos to tell us that it was like earthquake. In any account, these seasoned fisherman, who knew this Sea like the back of their hand were blind sighted. They were sailing along with perfect weather and all of the sudden, “BAM,” the storm hits.
Have you ever felt like the disciples felt that day? Your life was progressing along nicely – the sun was shining, the winds were calm, the water smooth – and then all of the sudden “BAM” the storm hits your life. The breath is knocked out of you and you’re knocked off of your feet.
You look up to Heaven and say “Lord, don’t you see what is going on down here? Can’t you tell that I’m drowning? Don’t you care that I’m in trouble?”
Mark 4: 38 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?"
Have you ever felt that way? “Lord my boat is taking on water and I’m about to drown, don’t you care!”
Maybe I’m preaching to someone here today that feels just like one of these disciples. Life has punched you in the gut. Problems hang on you like a wet blanket. Storms are blowing off your shingles. Difficulties are flooding your basement. Sickness is eating away at you and trials are sucking you dry.
Maybe I’m preaching to someone today that feels like nothing is stable, nothing is grounded, everything is shaking and everything seems to be going wrong. You look up and say “God don’t you care if I’m drowning?
But I want you to remember that storms will come!
Remember that Abraham’s whole life had storms.
Jacob faced adversity, Joseph had hard time, Moses had storms, Elijah had difficulties, Daniel had the lions den, the 3 Hebrews had the fiery furnace, David went through trials, Peter was tried, and Jesus had a cross and a lost world.
Sometimes we feel like Job when he said:
"if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. Job 23:8-10
Folks, I want you to understand that the trial you are facing today maybe nothing compared to the storm that you will face tomorrow. That the testing of your faith today is preparation for what you will face tomorrow and such was the case of the disciples.
Jesus had been teaching His disciples the Word and now He was giving them a practical test to see how much they had really learned. After all, the hearing of God’s Word is intended to produce faith and faith must always be tested.
It is not enough for us merely to learn a lesson or be able to repeat a teaching. We must also be able to practice that lesson by faith, and that is one reason why God permits trials to come to our lives.
Now let me ask you a few questions. Did Jesus tell the disciples to get into the boat and did Jesus know that the storm was coming? Sure He did! The storm was a part of that day’s curriculum. It would help the disciples understand a lesson that they did not even know they needed to learn.
Jesus knew that His disciple would face big trials ahead, so He prepared them for it. Does the Lord ever prepare you? Does He ever put you through a time of testing, and a process of preparation for what lies ahead?
In our passage, Jesus was teaching His disciples to rely on Him when the going got tough and the storms of life shook them to the core and knocked the wind out of them.
Now there are couple things that the taught the disciples that day that He wants us to learn as well.
First, Is Jesus the Lord of your rocking boat?
Now that may seem like a silly question for many of you. You’ve been believers for some time, you’ve walked with the Lord and you’ve put you’re trust in Him, but how do we do when storms hit us square in the chest. Do you know what I mean? Your Christian life is smooth sailing, things are going well and life is good. But then on the horizon, black clouds begin to accumulate, the wind begins to blow and before you know it your right in the midst of a hurricane. Sickness, injury, financial problems, job loss, and relational storms hit you like a lead balloon and before you know it you’re your flat on your back and you too are crying out: Lord, don’t you care if we drown?"
Folks, here is a spiritual principle: The storms we face in life won’t build our character; it simply reveals it.
If you recall from last week, Jesus had just taught His disciples the parable of the sower and the seed. He told them that the seed was His word and the soil their heart. He then went on to ask them how receptive they were their hearts to receiving and applying His word to their lives. He wanted them to examine their lives to see if:
• Their hearts were hard to His word? In other words, did they hear what He said, but they blow it off. “I don’t need to make any changes in my life Lord, I’m fine just the way I am!”
He asked them to examine if:
• Their hearts were shallow? In other words, were they half-hearted and laisse-fare about their faith. They’d take some of what Jesus said, but disgarded the rest.
He asked them to examine if:
• Their hearts were crowded? In other words, their relationship with the Lord was a relationship of convenience, when they could fit Him in.
And He asked them to examine if:
• Their hearts were open and receptive. If they heard the word, retained it, and by persevering produced a crop. Luke 8:15.
In other words, did they not only know who the Lord was, but they were seeking to know what He says, do what He desires and apply what He says to their lives. In short, Jesus was asking them how willing and teachable they were.
So in order to drive this home to them, the very next thing they experience is an all expense paid cruise in a hurricane that was promoted, planned and purchased by the Lord Himself, but why?
God’s Word is not for the purpose of learning a lesson or being able to repeat a teaching or to expound upon a particular doctrine. The purpose of God’s Word is to produce faith in Jesus Christ. Now Rom. 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. And Heb. 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
And that we should Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2
Faith in Jesus is like a muscle that needs to be developed and a relationship that needs to be nurtured. And it can’t be developed if you:
• Don’t think you need it (hard heart)
• Don’t think you have time for it (shallow heart)
• Don’t think you have room for it (crowded heart)
Our faith in Jesus Christ must be something that is active and real because when the storms of life come and they will come, your faith in Jesus will enable you to either float or flounder.
Look at the disciple; everything they’ve been hearing Jesus say; everything they’ve been seeing Jesus do; everything they’ve come to know about who Jesus was thrown overboard when the storm hit. Why? Because If Jesus isn’t Lord before you get in the boat, He can’t be the Lord of your rocking boat.
v 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we’re going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. Then He said to them 25" Where is your faith?" I’ll tell you where their faith was, they left it on shore. Then in fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
What in the world kind of question is that? "Who is this? Who did they think He was, weren’t they paying attention. Or was it just that their hearts were hard, or shallow, or crowded? Sure the disciples were on board when He turned the water to wine, healed a blind man, a crippled man, delivered a man from an unclean spirit and raised a widow’s son from the dead, but now their wondering who He was. It’s not hard to have faith when its for someone else and it’s not difficult to have when the outcome doesn’t significantly change our lives and its easy to keep the Lord at arms length, close enough, but not too close, putting up that personal bubble that let’s the Lord in so far, but not too far.
And for the disciples and most of us that may work as long as the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the water is calm. However, when the clouds turn black the storm surge looms on the horizon that just isn’t going to cut it.
These disciples who physically walked with Jesus and saw with their own eyes what He had done, panicked even though Jesus was right beside them. And that folks was the lesson for the day and that’s what Jesus wants all of us to see! He wanted them to see that He is in control and Lord of all! That even the wind and the waves obey Him! He is the Sovereign Lord God all mighty And that if wanted them to understand right down to their core that if He isn’t their Lord of all, then He isn’t their Lord at all. Either Jesus is in your boat or He’s not! You can’t have you one foot in the boat and one foot on shore. James 1:7-8 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
2 Now a second principle we can learn from this is that
Storms in life are going to come whether you are ready or not, so get ready!
Do you know how many people tried to ride out Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and even Gustof? You need to prepare for the inevitable, the predictable, and the foreseeable?
Remember what Jesus told His disciples in Luke 6: “I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." Luke 6:47-49
The storm hit both the just and the unjust! But the time to dig your foundation is not when the storm is bearing down on you. Now I know that digging that foundation down to the Rock of our salvation isn’t easy. In fact, the Lord tells us too persistently, doggedly and continually to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Phil. 2:12-13
• If you are going to have a walk with God you are going to have to work at it.
• If you are going to have a good marriage then you are going to have to work at it.
• If you are going to have a healthy family that loves the Lord and each other, it will happen because you put some time and effort and work into it.
• If you are going to have children that grow up to love the Lord you are going to have to invest some time into them and work at it.
And when you face storms that come against you and they will you must not only hide God’s Word in your heart, you must allow it to transform your mind, Rom. 12:2; give you a new attitude Eph. 4:23 and not just listen to God’s Word, but actually doing it James 1:21, by acknowledging that God’s way is right, and move on to His purpose for our life Luke 7:29-30.
That’s how you fight the good fight, run in such a way as to finish the race, and kept the faith.
Don’t wait until the storm comes, the wind blows and creek rises to prepare. Be ready in and out of season. Work out your salvation by putting it to work. Why? Because storms in life will come!
And when they come and they will, you will need to know right down to your bones that you can count on the Lord to be there. Don’t wait to develop your faith? But know that
in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Rom. 8:28
That if God is for you, who can be against you. Rom. 8:31
That we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Rom. 8:37
That you are convinced . . . that nothing in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:38-39
So I’m asking you to not wait for the inevitable, the predicable and the foreseeable. Get into the word; get your heart right with the Lord so you’re ready for when the storms of life come.
