1. ALL PROBLEMS IN LIFE ARE NOT RELATED TO SIN!
The Jews believed strongly that if something bad happened to someone, they had
done some sort of sin. If a person was stricken with an illness it reflected on some sort of
sin. If he suffered financial loss, it was sin-related.. If his children grew up to live evil lives,
it was sin-related.
a. When we get into a storm of life, the first question we ask ourselves, how
did we get here? What did I do? So let’s look again at our text, How did the disciples get
where they were? This is very important... What great wrong did they commit?
The truth of the matter is that they committed NO WRONG, they were simply obeying Jesus. Following Jesus’ instruction took them directly into the eye of the storm.
2. FOLLOWING JESUS LEADS US INTO STORMY SITUATIONS!
If you set your heart and mind on following Jesus, the storms of life will arise for two reasons.
REASON # 1: The devil seeks to swamp the boat you are in!
If you begin to do the will of God, the devil is not going to be a happy camper. He
will throw everything but the kitchen sink at you to try to distract you from the work of
God. He won’t appear in a puff of smoke in front of you, but he will use his influence to
stir up people around you enough to make your life miserable. When you set your heart on
doing God’s will look for some of these things to happen:
1. People will tell lies about you! (devil is the father of lies)
2. People Around you will attempt to provoke arguments and fights! (the
devil confuses minds and most arguments and fights arise out of confusion)
3. Others that you love will fall into sin! (family members, and fellow
Christians, too!)
4. Your own past & forgiven sins will become an issue! (he is the ACCUSER
of the brethren, after all!)
REASON # 2: God seeks to demonstrate His faithfulness and strengthen your own
personal faith.
Jesus led the disciples into the boat. He who knew all things knew the storm
was coming. He led them there with the very purpose of strengthening their faith. The
whole purpose of the encounter with the storm was not that the devil was trying to kill
Jesus. If that was what happened, the Scripture would indicate that it was so. Instead, it
was an event that was carefully designed and orchestrated by God to increase their faith.
3. HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS STORM?
This is a tough question. If I had been one of the disciples, I think I would have
several answers:
1. Row your way out.
Far too often, we get into a storm of life and we expend all sorts of energy and
effort to get out of the mess we are in. If it is a family crisis we seek counseling. If it is a
financial crisis, we seek a loan. If it is a job crisis we seek new employment. In other
words, we use our own human effort to get us out of that storm. The problem is, far too
often, there is nothing we can in the storm.
BUT- If The purpose of the storm is to increase our Faith, how will this help?
2. Ride it out - SURVIVE!
If we just sit still and try not to worry, maybe it will go away. I can hang tough
until it is over. As the old saying goes, “This too, shall pass.” In other words, let’s just try
and survive.
BUT- If The purpose of the storm is to increase our Faith, how will this help?
So we see that these two things are not the answer. We see the need for something
more powerful and effective. We need to turn to Jesus.
4. WHAT WAS JESUS WAITING FOR?
How could He just sleep peacefully as the storm’s fury broke all around them? Why
didn’t he come to their aid? Because, the way our faith is increased is to realize that he is
the only answer to our storms. He wants us to learn that while we might be able to row our
way out, it is much easier to turn to Him first! Although we might be able to ride out the
storm, it is easier to turn to him in faith and seek direction.
Our faith is increased when we learn to turn to him more quickly rather than seeking our own means and methods of getting out of the storm.
