2 Timothy 3:1-7 Matt. 8:23-26; 16:24-26 John 16:33 Psalm 107:23-30
We all remember Hurricane Katrina and the damage it inflicted on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. It’s only a memory now, but it left terrible devastation and painful memories that still remain. The other night on the news they were revisiting New Orleans and looking at how much still remains to be done. As I watched, I thought about all those sailors over the centuries who looked to the sea for their livelihood, and how familiar they must’ve been with similar scenarios. Then I also thought how life is often compared to a voyage at sea.
Consider the ancient sailors for a moment. Now they really were the ultimate risk-takers. A weather forecast in those days meant, maybe, a couple of hours warning . . . if they were lucky.
I read about an interesting map that’s on display in the British Museum in London. It’s an old mariner’s chart first drawn in 1525. It outlined the North American coastline and adjacent waters that had been explored. The cartographer made some intriguing notations on areas of the map that represented regions not yet explored. Some of his notations included the following:
* "Here be giants!"
* "Here be fiery scorpions!"
* "Here be dragons."
The article explained that eventually the map came into the possession of Sir John Franklin, a British explorer in the early 1800’s. Franklin scratched out each one of the fearful inscriptions, and he wrote these words in their place: "HERE IS GOD."
How often do we live our lives like we’re following that original map? We sail through waters which seem filled with many dangers. Fear of the unknown becomes very real to us! It seems that "Here be Giants! and "There be fiery scorpions!" and "Near by are terrible dragons." Our fears take away our peace of mind everywhere we turn.
In this mornings Scripture reading, we read Matthew’s account of some disciples in a situation very much like the one I just described. Those disciples forgot something very important. Let’s review a part of that account:
“. . . Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ And Jesus answered, ‘Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!’” (Matthew 8:23-26 NLT)
You see, Jesus’ disciples forgot the same thing that we often forget; "Here is God!" He’s in the boat with us when we’re going through the storms, but often we forget God’s greatness, God’s graciousness, and God’s power. Matthew continues his story of Jesus by saying, The disciples just sat there in awe. "Who is this?" they asked themselves. "Even the wind and waves obey him!" (Matthew 8:27)
Our text today finds Jesus and His disciples literally on the sea, and we can learn much about our voyage through life by way of this passage.
At various times, we’re all caught in a storm, and some today may feel they’re about to go under. Well, there’s peace and stillness on the way, if you’ll listen to God’s Word now. Consider Matthew’s story. What was the problem? Well, actually there’s
2 problems: a Sinking Ship and a Sleeping Savior.
Let’s remember that the disciples were led into that storm by following their Master. Some believe that storms come for the Christian only when they rebel or disobey God, but that’s not true. God’s will isn’t always smooth sailing.
The storm described in Matthew wasn’t unusual on the Sea of Galilee, and I’ve read that it’s still the same today. The Sea of Galilee is really more of a big lake—13 miles long and 8 miles wide. It’s surrounded by mountains and hills.
The cool air comes over the mountains and mixes with the warm sea air and violent storms can erupt without much warning.
So consider this, isn’t that pretty much how the storms of life come?! One minute the sun’s shining, and the next the lightning’s flashing, thunder booming, and the winds and the waves go wild. The phone rings and in seconds your life is changed. You have a routine doctor visit, but the look on his face says it’s not going to be routine. It can happen at an intersection in a flash, or when your boss calls you into the office, or when you open the electric bill. Storms arise suddenly and violently, and without warning.
Storms come from a variety of causes:
• Sometimes we stir up our own storms. These storms are of our own making, like in Jonah’s case. He decided not to do God’s will. It’s amazing as you read the story how many times it says that Jonah ‘went down.’ After he decided to go his own way, it says he went down to Tarshish, down into the heart of the ship, down into the sea, down into the belly of the whale. The moral here’s an easy one.
• Once you decide not to follow God’s plan, there’s only one way to go and that’s ‘down!’
Jonah brought that storm on himself by his own stubborn will. If it was any consolation, he holds the distinction of being the first man in history to spend the night on a foam blubber mattress! But in the end, we learn that “You can’t keep a good man down.”
• Some storms God creates Himself. One example is in John 6, after Jesus fed the 5,000, the people wanted to make Him a king. Imagine how tempted the disciples must’ve been in that moment, but Jesus said, No. Instead, he told them to get in the boat and go to Capernaum. In other words, get away from the temptation! Like Joseph with Potiphar’s wife, JUST RUN!
But the disciples’ lesson continued. Along the way they again ran directly into the middle of another storm. Why? I suspect Jesus did it to divert their attention from something that would’ve created a bigger problem in their lives. I’ve heard it said that, “Sometimes God sends us a little storm to keep us from heading into a bigger one!”
A little boy was playing with his sailboat at the edge of a lake. True to it’s design, the boat sailed, but it got away from the boy and out of his reach. He didn’t want to lose it, and ingeniously he thought of a plan. He started tossing rocks on the other side, past the boat. The waves brought the boat back to him. When we drift away from God, He sometimes does the same with us.
His storms can drive us back into the arms of Jesus . . . if we allow them to!
• Some storms are Satanic in origin. The devil himself is sometimes the author of our storms. Many Bible scholars believe the storm in Matt. 8 was devil driven, because in v. 26 it says Jesus ‘rebuked’ the storm. The word for rebuke is “ep•ee•tee•mah•o” in Greek. This word regularly appears in accounts where Jesus ‘rebuked’ demons. In chapter 8 of Luke, the same storm is written about, and Jesus said to the storm, “Be still.” In Luke’s account, the Greek for “be still” is the word used for muzzling a dog. The messages of both Gospels are the same. The storm was not God’s doing, but Jesus had authority over it.
Sometimes Satan kicks up a storm to try getting us off track. On one occasion the Apostle Paul said, “I would have come to you, but Satan hindered me.” (I don’t recommend that you try that excuse next time you’re late for work!)
So, we have a problem…a sinking ship, and to make matters worse, we’ve got a sleeping Savior. Verse 24b says, “He was asleep.” Point of interest, this is the only time we find Jesus asleep, and it’s in a storm, no less. Several other times we find the disciples sleeping when Jesus has important business, but this time He’s asleep, and they’re biting their nails to the quick!
Ever been in a storm of life and it seemed like God was sleeping? You cry out, “Where are you, Lord? Don’t you know what’s going on? Don’t you care?”
When I go thru a storm, I occasionally feel like I have it all figured out. I know what the Lord ought to do, how He ought to do it, and when . . . like . . . NOW! Each time that happens, God reminds me of 2 hard lessons:
1. God doesn’t need my advice, and
2. God doesn’t work on my timetable.
God will do it in His way and in His time. He doesn’t need a wake up call, and He never oversleeps. He’s always on the throne and in full control.
Remember Lazarus? They sent word to Jesus that His friend Lazarus was sick. But the Bible says specifically that Jesus stayed where He was for 2 more days.
Then when He finally arrived there Lazarus was dead, and I want you to know that Martha was waiting for Him. She said, “If you had been here our brother would not have died.” Translation: “Well, look who finally decided to show up! Hope it isn’t too much of an inconvenience! It might interest you to know that He’s now dead!”
But we know the rest of the story: “Lazarus, came forth!”
It may seem sometimes like God’s asleep or He’s late, but we need to remember that His ways are not our ways, and although God is sometimes early, He’s never late!
A teenager once shared with me his view of God’s response to prayer: “God answers prayers in one of four ways: Yes, No, Wait awhile, or, You’ve got to be kidding!” I could relate to that.
We move now from the disciples’ problem to the disciples’ prayer…
Notice what the disciples did and what they said in verse 25.
What they did—they went to Jesus. What they said—Lord, save us: we perish.
It’s one of the shortest prayers in the Bible, and it’s also one of the most real! After all, when we’re in trouble, don’t we cut out the fluff and ramblings and get right down to business? It happened when Peter walked on the water. He looked at the storm and began to go under. In that instant, he prayed his famous 3 word prayer, “Lord, save me!” He didn’t have time for “Oh God of Jeroboam and Rehoboam and all the Boam boys” or “Oh God of Jehoshaphat and all the Phat boys…” It was a no nonsense prayer straight from the heart.
However, there’s a contradiction in the prayer. “Lord, save us! We perish!” If you think about it, “Lord, save us!” is the language of faith. They had faith that he could save them.
On the other hand, “We perish” is the language of fear. Now, isn’t that just like us humans? Trying to have faith and fear at the same time?! Faith and fear are mutually exclusive . . . spiritual opposites! Faith and fear cannot co-exist in the same heart at the same time. When you’re looking at the storm, you’re filled with fear, but when you’re looking to Jesus, you’re filled with faith!
• What you do during a storm reveals who you are and what you are.
What’s your first impulse in a storm? Run to a friend? That’s not entirely bad if they’ll give you Godly counsel, but it’s not the first response you should have. How about . . . Run for the nearest exit? Hide or try to wait it out through diversions or drugs? If that’s your answer just remember, the storm will still be there when you come back down!
• Fear is looking at God through your circumstances. Faith is looking at your circumstances through God!
The disciples went to Jesus first, and so should we. Remember, they were in that boat because Jesus told them to be there, and whenever God commands, he also enables. If God led you there, God will lead you through.
• Our character is revealed in our storms. The storms of life will either draw us closer to the Lord or further away, but no one will emerge from their storms the same as they went in!
• In a storm, you will either become bitter or better! That too is a choice we can make. People are not made hard or bitter by life. They’re made hard or bitter by choice. When our eyes are fixed on Christ, it’s impossible not to realize his authority and know the assurance of His grace.
When was the last time you sat in awe at the presence of Jesus? If you haven’t done so recently, maybe it’s time you did! Maybe it’s time you call out to the only one who can calm the storm in your life! King David knew to call out to God in such times. Long ago he wrote, "I will call on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, for he saves me from my enemies." (Psalm 18:3)
PLEASE JOIN WITH ME IN PRAYER
Heavenly Father, at times we have forgotten, but this morning we’re reminded that we’re all in the same boat -- that each one of us is dependent upon you to help us make it through the storms of life. We may not know your plan, O Lord, and we may not recognize where you’re leading us or even where we are. But this much we know, we have read your map, and we are fully confident that, "Here is God!" In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
(sermon adopted and modified from a sermon by Jerry Shirley @ SermonCentral.com)
