A wife woke up one morning and said, “Honey, I just had a dream that you bought me a new gold necklace. What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know, but Valentine’s Day is coming soon. Tuesday, you’ll know,” He replied.
A few nights later, she again woke up after having a dream, “This time, I dreamed you gave me a pearl necklace. What do you think it means?”
“You’ll know Tuesday,” He replied.
The night before Valentine’s Day, she again woke up telling him about her dream, “This time I dreamed that you brought me a diamond necklace. What do you think it means?”
“Honey, be patient. "You’ll know tonight." he said.
That evening, the husband came home with a package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it--to find a book entitled, "The meaning of dreams."
We live lives filled with shattered dreams and disappointments. Often we give Satan the credit for those problems and call it “spiritual warfare.” But last week we discovered some interesting facts about spiritual warfare.
We discovered that the devil was completely disarmed and stripped naked of all of his powers over us. We discovered he was paraded through the streets of heaven and publicly humiliated. We discovered we have victory over Satan but we still have battles with him.
We discovered that warfare is only mentioned 5 times in the New Testament and not once does it have anything to do with Satan. Rather the warfare is between our spirit and our flesh. Our war is against mental bondages and human reasoning. Our warfare is against doubt. Our warfare is the threat of losing focus of why God placed us here, which is to make disciples and be salt and light. Our warfare is fighting our lusts and desires to have it our way. Our warfare is desiring to control our thoughts and actions rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to do so. Losing on any of these battle fields empowers Satan.
We also discovered that we must take responsibility for our own actions. That wherever we are challenged we must recognize our role in the battle. And if the battle is not because of our actions than begin to discover what God is getting ready to do.
Let’s be certain of this. When you are being active for God, Satan will try to derail you. He will discourage you. He will put fear in you. He will put doubt in your mind. He got to the twelve disciples this way and he will you also.
Let’s read Mark 4:35. “As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”
What was important on the other side of the lake? The other side of the lake was the region of Gerasenes. It was known as the Decapolis, the ten cities. It was largely a Gentile area where the Roman Army was stationed to maintain the order and peace in the conquered land. It was home to a demon possessed man who lived in the graveyards. Supernaturally strong, he wandered about cutting himself. He needed deliverance and Jesus was sent by his Father to deliver him because God had a plan for this man’s life. So Jesus and the twelve set about their mission.
Let’s continue the story. Mark 4:36-38. “So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.”
Let’s look at the word for “came up.” The Greek word is ginomai. It described something that came up unexpectedly or catches you off guard. There was nothing about that night that would have led them to believe that a storm was coming. As experienced fisherman they knew it was a perfect night for sailing. Plus this was no ordinary storm. It was a fierce storm. The Greek word was megas. We get our word mega, meaning huge, from this.
This was a mega storm. The last time the United States had a mega storm was Oct 29, 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey. A 14 foot wave of ocean water hit the coast and covered 51 square miles of the city. Imagine an area from Mountain Island Lake down Hwy 16 to Newton and from Lincolnton to Concord covered with water. 70,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Entire neighborhoods burnt to the ground. 43 people died. This was a mega storm. This was what the disciples were facing.
Plus, since we are told that high waves were breaking into the boat, we know that it was a wind storm. The wind storm was unseen but the effects were being felt. This is the way Satan works. We often do not see his attacks coming or even where they are coming from. But we suffer the effects of such attacks.
So how did the followers of Jesus handle this attack? Mark 4:38. “Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
What do you see in the disciple’s question? Discouragement? Fear? Doubt? Discouraged because Jesus is asleep and not with them in the storm? Fear that they are going to die? Doubt that He even cares? I don’t blame them for these emotions. But reality is they forgot two things. Jesus said “We are going to the other side of the lake.” He was able to rest in the midst of the storm because He trusted his Father to care for him. And that Jesus was in the boat with them. If they drowned, he drowned also. Remember the little side note in Mark 4:36? Other boats followed. None of those other boats made it to the other side. Why? They didn’t have Jesus with them. When going through the storm, you need to have Jesus with you.
Often when we are going through the storms in life we get discouraged. We may even wonder why we try to live a godly life when those living in the world never seem to have problems. We may live in fear of the outcome, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. We may doubt whether God really cares about our situation. We may feel He is sleeping while we struggle. These thoughts and emotions can be used by Satan to bind us back up. Just remember Jesus came to unbind us and He did. Satan can only bind us back up if we let him.
Now back to the story. Mark 4:39 “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.”
Let’s analyze what Jesus did here. He rebuked the wind, which was the cause of the storm. That is to say He sternly warned the wind to stop. Then He spoke to the effects of the wind to settle down and be muzzled. The result was a great calm. The word “great” as used here is the Greek word megas, the same word that described the storm. Satan sent a mega storm to derail God’s plan. Jesus sent a mega calm to stop him.
As a believer you have authority over Satan and his demonic powers. You can warn him sternly to release you from any storm he has sent your way. You can speak words of blessings into those areas that have been affected by the storm. You don’t have to live lives filled with financial worries, illnesses, or marital problems. You can speak words of blessings into those areas. What ever storms the devil brings into your life, Jesus wants to match it with the calmness of a greater blessing.
For many of us we don’t know how to speak words against Satan and the storms of life. God provided us with a way to do just that but it’s seldom used due to fear and abuse. It’s called a prayer language. 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 “For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.
Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.”
God offers to each believer a spiritual prayer language. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit. When faced with adversity your spirit can circumvent the flesh and pray with the Holy Spirit directly to God. Paul said when he did this he had no knowledge of what he was praying. But he also informed us that it must be balanced. We should do both, pray in the spirit and pray in the flesh. And praying against Satan is not yelling at him and stomping your feet. It’s called spiritual warfare. Getting into the fleshly silliness is totally ineffective.
Before we leave the story, let’s discover what it was that Satan put such effort into stopping. As I related Jesus encountered a man possessed with demons. Jesus drove the demons out and the man gained his sanity. He wanted to get in the boat and return to the other shore with Jesus. Mark 5:19-20 “But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.”
God had plans for this man to be the first missionary. He was the first person commanded to go and tell. He would reach others that Jesus and his disciples couldn’t. That is what Satan wanted to stop. And often his attacks are designed to stop us from going and telling.
Let’s talk about the apostle Paul for a moment. Paul tells the church about a storm in his life. He was given the privilege to go to heaven and return. But because of this privilege Satan sent a storm in his life to torment him. So Paul did as any of us would do. He cried out to God but God refused to ease his storm. There was a purpose for it.
2 Corinthians 12:9 “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”
Paul had spent most of his life as a proud, self-sufficient man. A Jew among Jews, skilled in the law, respected. Those who knew him would no longer recognize him. Here was a man weak and dependent on others, allowing himself to be beaten and imprisoned for the cause that he once fought against. When he asked God for deliverance from his storms God refused because the request was unrealistic. Paul was asking to be delivered from the purpose that God had called him to be a part of. God wanted to show his power in the midst of Paul’s storms and allow Paul to experience the kindness and goodness of God. Sometimes storms exist for that same reason.
How do we know if the storm is from Satan alone or a storm sent by Satan that God is allowing? It’s when you feel God’s kindness and goodness in the storm. It’s when you can weather the storm with joy in your heart and a peace beyond understanding. It’s when you are anxious to tell others about your storm, not to complain but to show God’s power at work. It’s when you wait in anticipation of a break through in your storm because God is good.
I want you to remember this. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”
Our storms may be pressing against us like being in a crowd. They may be causing us problems. Our storms might be causing us to be puzzled and at a loss for it’s reason. Our storms may be nipping right at our heals making us feel oppressed and harassed. Our storms might have us knocked down and laid us flat on our backs.
But this is what you say to your storms. I am not crushed, withheld from fellowship with God, or restricted from worshipping him. I am not to the point where I am ready to throw in the towel. God hasn’t forsaken me, left me, or abandoned me. And I am for certain alive and will not allow this storm to bring violent strife against me.
In 1988, Robert Fulghum published his best-selling book, Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Recently, somebody suggested another book title: Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Noah. For example...
* Don't miss the boat.
* Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
* Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something big.
* Don't listen to critics; just do the job that needs to be done.
* Build your future on high ground.
* For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
* Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
* When you're stressed, float a while.
* Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
* No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.
God has a rainbow at the end of your storm. And he also has a ministry waiting for you. I agree with Paul where he writes in Philippians 1:6. “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” There is not a storm created by Satan that can destroy you as long as Jesus is with you in that storm.
