THE PERFECT STORM
Matthew 14:22-33
By R. Juthman
INTRODUCTION
On October 30 of 1991, a storm stronger than any in recorded history hit the coast off of Gloucester, Massachusetts. This storm created an almost apocalyptic situation in the Atlantic Ocean, where boats encountered waves of 100 feet - the equivalent of a ten story building - and winds of 120 miles an hour. While this storm may not have been a threat to land or to the homes along the shore, it was however deadly to those men who were caught in the shipping and fishing lanes. Many of the families of the small fishing towns surrounding Gloucester suffered the loss of friends or family members in what is now remembered as "The Perfect Storm."
One boat lost at sea during the storm was the Andrea Gail, a swordfish boat out of Gloucester with six hands on board. The story of this storm and this boat is told in a book by Sebastian Junger called "The Perfect Storm". In 2000 this tale was made into a movie staring George Clooney entitled, the Perfect storm.
I am probably the worst title maker in the history of preaching. When I began studying this passage , and felt this was what I was to preach today, I began thinking of an appropriate title. Well, here goes. I have titled this message, guess what, THE PERFECT STORM
Most of us in this room this morning will never face a situation like the one that I just described. However, there will be a time in the life of most Christians when we will come upon a different type of storm. How we handle that storm may in many ways determine how we live the remainder of our Christian life.
What the bible teaches us and life affirms, is that
STORMS ARE A PART OF LIFE
There are some here today who are going through a storm. Others in this room have passed through a storm, and aside from a few scars you are enjoying a season of peacefulness. I have good news for the rest of you here today, you are about to enter a storm.
Peter reminds don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. ( 1 Peter 4:12)
And James adds when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.( James 1:2)
The psalmist writes, Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid,(Ps.23:4)
As we read our Bibles, we discover that ….
THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF STORMS:
There are storms of CORRECTION. Some storms come as a result of choices we make that are contrary to God’s will. A prime scriptural example is Jonah. God called him to Nineveh, but he disregarded Gods command and chose to board a ship bound for tarshish.
When a storm broke out threatening to take the lives of Jonah and the crew, he told the captain to through him overboard where a great fish swallowed him up.
You know the rest of the story how when Jonah repented, the Lord caused the fish to vomit him onto dry land which just happened to be in the area of Nineveh where God had called Jonah in the first place.
This was a storm of CORRECTION. The storm was a result of Jonahs choice, and it was used to get him back on track with God’s will for his life.
Most people I encounter and counsel are not in that category. The storms they are facing are not due to their rebellion or ill-conceived choices, but occur while they are doing God’s will.
You could call them storms of PERFECTION where God causes us to grow in our faith.
I can think of two biblical examples of storms of perfection. One is Job, who is described as a man of the highest integrity. In fact God’s testimony of Job was that there was no other like him in the earth, who walked in integrity before God and men.
Yet, Satan was permitted by God to afflict job with all sorts of trouble including the death of his children, the destruction of his home, and the decimation of his livelihood. Nevertheless, in all of his distress the Bible says this was his response, ‘The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away, Blessed be the name of the Lord.’
Another example of a person who walked with God and encountered unbelievable storms was Joseph.
Joseph was the favored son of Jacob. He was a young man of integrity, vision, wisdom, and courage. He was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery. Falsely accused by his employer and imprisoned for crimes he never committed. He was forgotten by his friends whom he had helped out of prison. Yet the Bible says he never grew bitter, he continued to serve the Lord and when brought face to face with the very brothers who betrayed him, rather than exact vengeance he encouraged them with this testimony of faith,
You meant it for evil but God meant it for good, to save many lives.’
Something alese to consider is that STORMS DO NOT DISCRIMINATE
Storms happen to everyone whether saved or unsaved. Rich or poor. Preacher or layperson.
Pentecostal or Baptist.
Many Christians have the mistaken idea that obedience to God’s will produces “smooth sailing.” But this is not true. In fact Jesus gave this promise to His followers, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.,” (Joh_16:33).
Storms were part of the lives of Peter, Andrew, James and John when they were fishermen. The storms did not stop because they were now followers of Jesus..
Storms are part of life, they come in different kinds, and they do not discriminate. You are either in a storm, you have come out of a storm or you are about to enter a storm.
ARE YOU PREPARED?
When we find ourselves in the storm because we have obeyed the Lord, we must remember what Jesus does for us to bring us closer to Jesus and build our faith in Him.
Lets remember 4 things about Jesus and the storms of life, ( John Maxwell, W.Weirsbe)
“He brought me here.”
If you’ll look at verse 22 it says, "Right away, Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and start back across the lake." The NLT translation says, " Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake,
Here they are out in the midst of the storm, but Jesus is the one who put them in the boat. He’s the one that told them to get out in the middle of the lake. They’re right in the middle of God’s will but they’re having the storm of their life.
The storm came because they were in the will of God and not (like Jonah) out of the will of God.
Did Jesus know that the storm was coming? Certainly! Did He deliberately direct them into the storm? Yes! Here is the point,
They were safer in the storm in God’s will than on land with the crowds out of God’s will. (W.Wiersbe))
We must never judge our security on the basis of circumstances alone.
Not only does Jesus bring us through the storm but remember …
“He is praying for me.”
In verses 22 and 23, we find that while the disciples were out in the lake during the storm, our Lord was praying. He prays for us. In Hebrews, Chapter 4, we have a wonderful story of our Lord and how He intercedes for us.
" So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."
Jesus came to this world to talk to us about God and He is now in heaven talking to God about us. The Hebrew writer said that Jesus intercedes for us in our time of need. And literally means, "In the nick of time." In other words, as we are here on earth encountering storms in our life, our Lord is at the right hand of the Father, interceding, praying for us.
He comes to us and He ministers to us in the very nick of time.
If you knew that Jesus Christ was in the next room, praying for you, would it not give you new courage to endure the storm and do His will? Of course it would. He is not in the next room, but He is in heaven interceding for you. He sees your need, He knows your fears, and He is in control of the situation.
He has brought me here, he is praying for me and thirdly the Bible promises…
“He will come to me.”
Often we feel like Jesus has deserted us when we are going through the hard times of life. In the Psalms, David complained that God seemed far away and unconcerned. Yet he knew that God would ultimately rescue him. Even the great Apostle Paul got into a situation so difficult he felt “ crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. .’
Jesus always comes to us in the storms of life. I love the promise given in Isaiah, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isa_43:2 2, nasb).
Note when Jesus comes to us...
A. He comes to us at the darkest hour. "...a little before morning..."
He walks into the storms of life just at your darkest hour. The time when you’re the most needy. Do you notice they’d been in the storm for quite a while? Was Jesus apathetic? No. Was he ignorant? Absolutely not. He saw everything. He knew where they where. He saw their fears. He heard their cries. But He didn’t come until the hour was the darkest.
B. He comes to us victorious over our greatest fears. "...Jesus came walking on the water..."
In other words, he comes walking on the very thing that frightened the disciples. Do you see it? What are they worried about? They’re worried about the waves. That boat is being tossed back and forth. They’re afraid they’re going to drown. They’re afraid it’s going to capsize. They’re looking at those high waves coming over the sides of that boat. They’re bailing water as fast as they can. These guys are fishermen. They have been on the water all their life. They’re scared spitless. The waves are coming and all of a sudden, on the very thing that fears them, those high waves, the place where their greatest fears are resting, Jesus comes walking.
For a Wesleyan, John Mawell makes a terrific Pentecostasl observation,
In His quiet, majestic way, as He’s walking on the water, Jesus is saying, "Guys, the thing that is the greatest storm in your life, I keep under my feet." If you’re sick, He comes walking on your sickness. If you’re afraid of death, what did He do on Easter? He came walking on the waves of death, "Oh, death where is thy sting? Oh, grave where is thy victory?"
He’s standing on top of the stone. He’s saying, "I’m able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than you can ever ask or think. I can do that which gives you the greatest fear, the thing which causes you to tremble, the thing which causes you to falter. I come walking on it. I stand on that stuff. I’m victor. I’m the one who reigns. "
Why did Jesus walk on the water? To show His disciples that the very thing they feared (the sea) was only a staircase for Him to come to them. Often we fear the difficult experiences of life (such as surgery or bereavement), only to discover that these experiences bring Jesus Christ closer to us
Why did they not recognize Jesus? Because they were not looking for Him. Had they been waiting by faith, they would have known Him immediately. Instead, they jumped to the false conclusion that the appearance was that of a ghost. Fear and faith cannot live in the same heart, for fear always blinds the eyes to the presence of the Lord.
Jesus calls me, He prays for me, he comes to me and finally…
“He will see me through.”
Look what happens in verse 26 and 27, are you ready?
"When they saw Him, they thought He was a ghost. They were terrified and started screaming.’
Part of the cultural tradition was the unfounded belief that just prior to death a person will see visions of departed spirits coming to take them to the next world. This storm was so intense, that they basically felt this was it, and seeing the shadowy figure coming towards them in the early morning mist only added to their conviction, WE ARE DOOMED!
But through the misty rain and roaring waves they could hear the all too familiar, comforting voice telling them, `I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid.’"
I was taking with someone this week who has been going through an incredible storm with her son. Her comment to me was so familiar,
“why doesn’t God just pick us up and take us over the troubled waters?
Have you been there? Have you ever wondered, why, what purpose does this have for me?
Charlie Brown built a beautiful sandcastle, working on it for hours. Finally he stands back, looks at it. It’s wonderful. Just as he is admiring it, a storm comes up and blows over all his sand castle. Now, he’s standing where his beautiful masterpiece was, on level sand, saying to himself,
I know theres a lesson in this, but I’m not sure what it is.’
Everyone experiences storms in life. Jesus said ion Matthew 5, For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
When I expereince storms I come to the stark realization that I do not have all of the answers. I can have all the theological degrees available, but it takes one storm to shatter my belief system When that happens I turn to the Lord and discover….
He ministers to me in spite of my misunderstandings. And He ministers to me in spite of my fear.
The disciples didn’t know what was happening. They looked out and thought Jesus was a ghost. They were scared to death. Now, they’re even more scared. They don’t have a grasp of the situation, and Jesus walks in and gives three words of encouragement,
"Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
You know, I run into Christians all the time who somehow think that they should understand everything. Do you know nowhere in the Bible does it tell you, as a believer, that you should understand everything?
I run into Christians who feel guilty because they say, "I’m going through a terrible storm in my life and I don’t know what’s happening to me, and there must be something wrong with me because my connection must not be right with God or surely I could figure it out."
Can I tell you something? There are things in this life that you and I are never going to figure out. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you’re going to know everything. In fact, Paul said, "We look through a glass darkly on this earth." We look through a smoky glass.
Now, Paul says in Romans 8, "For we know all things work together." Paul said we know it. Why do we know it? Because we know that God’s on the throne and God’s sovereign.
We know that it’s going to be okay because of God. But Paul doesn’t say you understand everything. We’re not going to figure it all out. You see, our security isn’t what we know in our mind.
Our significance is not what we know. Our security is in Who we know.
(John Maxwell)
So we’re in the midst of the storm. We say, "I don’t understand it. I’m not even sure it’s fair. I don’t like it. But I know who’s Lord over the storm."
PERSONAL TESTIMONY
It was June 17 1994, viewers across Canada and the U.S. were glued to their television sets, watching as a fleet of black and white police cares pursued a white ford Bronco along Interstate 405 in Los angeles.
Inside the Bronco was O.J. Simpson, a former professional football player, actor and sports commentator whom police suspected in the recent of murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
I tell that story because it serves as a spiritual landmark for a point in my life where I went through one of the most life altering storms of my life.
It was the following week that I was attending a youth graduation pool party for the youth group I was pastoring in Kingston.
Sue was at home with Phil, Esther and Mike ( all of our baby sitters were at the party). We were at the home of a board member from the church. She had an above ground pool that perfectly suited our youth group.
As I remember, we were being youth. Having fun. Showing off. Celebrating life.
We decided to have a cannon-ball contest. When I jumped in, I had rolled over in the water and my head hit the bottom of the pool.
I felt electric shocks go up and down my arms and neck and across my shoulders.
I got to the surface and called for help. A couple of the youth pulled me to the patio head first. Someone wanted to call an ambulance, but I said, ‘No I’ll be Ok.’ When I looked up, I saw three of every one of my young people ( that is a sign right theire)
Another board member had arrived with his sons, and he offered to drive me to the emergency at Hotel Dieu Hospital. I consented to go. We drove in a chevette with no shocks along Montreal St, a road that had not been fixed since confederation. All the while a voice in my head kept saying
“DON’T MOVE YOUR HEAD”
When we arrived at hotel Dieu, I walked into emergency. A sign over the receptionists desk said,
‘if you have had a head or neck injury tell the receptionist right away.’
I figured I had a sprained muscle and so stood in line for about 45 minutes to an hour.
When I got up to the desk, I told the receptionist my story. The receptionist called the back room and I could here the doctor on the other end reply,
GET HIM BACK HERE!
I was sent down the hall to xray. They took the pictures and I am feeling bored, embarrassed and just wanting to get back to the party.
A few minutes later a doctor, about fifty, grey hair, stoic features ( looked like Marcus welby) came into the xray waiting area. He looked at me, and them the xray. He asked me,
“Rev., we would like to know how you walked in here tonight?’
I replied, ‘With my feet.”
The doctor did not smile, but soberly responded, “Reverend you have broken your neck.’
Do you remember Christopher Reeve? He was the actor who played Superman in the 70’s. It was a horse riding accident where he broke his neck and was paralyzed from the neck down. He fractured the first two vertabrea in his neck. According to those in the know, there are seven vertabrea in the neck, and any break in the first four, accompanied by serious spinal cord injurcy, will cause impairment of breathing and quadriplegia.’
I fractured the c3 vertabrea in my neck.
The doctor showed me the xray. He said that the muscles around my neck had expanded so quickly the bone was actually frozen in place. But if It had gone either way I would have been paralyzed or suffocated. Then I remembered the voice in the car
DON’T MOVE YOUR HEAD
I was transferred by ambulance to KGH where I was to meet Dr.Ellis, the top neurosurgeon in Canada. I was resting comfortably in a room, when Sue arrived. A nurse had come into the room and thinking I was unable to feel anything she took a pen and rubbed the bottom of my feet. I don’t know who hit the ceiling first, me or the nurse.
When dr.Ellis arrived, he told Sue and I that I would remain overnight and have a cat scan in the morning to assess the damage to the muscle tissue, then be prepped for surgery. They were intending to put the halo on me. You know the device they screw into your head that looks like Frankenstein?
All night the seens of the party went through my head. The pain, the ride to the hospital. The questions, WHY LORD? WHY NOW? WHAT ABOUT MY FAMILY? WILL I EVER PLAY WITH MY KIDS AGAIN? WILL IU EVR PREACH AGAIN? LORD THIS ISN’T FAIR
The next morning I was taken to the Cat Scan Room. It was cool. It reminded me of the transporter room on star trek where they beam you to other planets.
I don’t remember how long we waited. The cat Scan was merely supposed to be something to prelude the surgery. I really did not want the halo. But I put on a brave face, and was willing to accept whatever the Lord planned.
When Dr.Ellis came back into our room, he looked at the cat scan, looked and Sue and me. And said, well we looked at your head and didn’t find anything!
( To which Sue simply replied, and you expected something in their?)
Rev., he said, I don’t believe in God, but if you have been praying it seems there is no need for the halo. There is no damage to the nerves or muscles. But you will need to where a neck brace for at least a year followed by several weeks or months of physiotherapy.
The short story is, This neck brace that I am holding was what I wore, not for a year but merely 4 months. The follow-up xray revealed the bone had so neatly healed that only a trained eye could see any evidence of a break.
Today the only evidence I have of the accident is this neck brace, and the ability to predict when it is going to rain or snow.
God very graciously brought me through this storm. O, did I also tell you that the Sunday prior to the accident, my senior pastor resigned, which meant I was out of a job. Later that year sues mother would pass away and her grandfather. It would be the year of the greatest testing of our faith.
I have been asked over and over, ralph why do you think God allowed that accident to happen.? I could give a lot of trite reasons. I could quote scriptures about the Lords sovereignty. But at the end of the day I have to be honest,
I DON’T KNOW WHY
I can tell you, that exactly 19 years ago this weekend, the Lord God knew that there would be someone at Lakeshore Pentecostal Camp who was going through a fierce storm. You feel that you have no strength or faith to believe any more. God knew that you would come to a meeting where you would hear a preacher tell you that
Jesus is calling you
Jesus is praying for you
Jesus is coming to you
JESUS WILL BRING YOU THROUGH THE STORM!
So Take courage, Jesus is with you, Don’t be afraid.
Resources
Sermoncentral, John Maxwell, In The Storms
Commentaries, Warren Weirsbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary on the New Testament.
