The Restoring Of Peace

The Restoring Of God’s Peace

Mat 8:23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.

Mat 8:24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.

Mat 8:25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!"

Mat 8:26 But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Mat 8:27 So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

Everyone of us fall victim to anxiety and worry.

Someone said, “I have so many troubles that if anything happens to me today it will be two weeks before I can get around to worrying about it.”

Someone else said, “Worrying about the past is like trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.”

What do people worry about? Here are the results of a national poll: Industry Week Magazine

Own health and fitness - 73%

Lack of time for family or leisure pursuits - 49%

Their children’s problems - 43%

TIE - Job related stress - 43%

Personal investments - 39%

Estate planning - 37%

Relationship with children - 34%

Aging - 30%

Income Level - 22%

Their marriages - 21%

Quote: “Worry is a thin stream of fear that trickles through the mind, which if encouraged, will cut a channel so wide that all other thoughts will be drained.”,

Worry corrodes and corrupts the mind – removes our focus in life

Worry will erode the good and positive thoughts and replace them with negative and damaging thoughts

I read about fog the other day… A dense fog - covering 7 city blocks, 100 feet deep, contains less than one full glass of water.

Worry is much like fog… there’s not as much in as we though, it causes perspective to be clouded, it causes difficulty in maneuvering the roads of life, it slows us down to get where we really want to go in life.

Worry effects our…

Health

- High Blood Pressure

- Heart Disease

- Headaches

- Nausea

- Insomnia

- Lack of Energy

It strains our relationships. They say that financial stress is the #1 marriage killer.

It disrupts our productivity. It destroys careers, etc.

Proverbs 12:25 - "An anxious heart weighs a man down." (NLT)

1 Pet 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. (NLT)

Anxiety is a direct attack from Satan. It paralyzes us from being effective Christians.

A recent study found out…

• 40% of worries are about things that never happen

• 30% are about past things or things that cannot be change

• 22% were over petty, needless things

• only 8% were legitimate concerns.

A mouse living in a cage with a wheel will travel 9,000 miles in his lifetime....and he’s still in the cage! Worry is that same way. You can worry 24/7 and guess what...your still in the cage.

Perhaps I should of titled this… Don’t Worry-Jesus is Sleeping!

I’ve come to give you good news this morning – Whatever it is that has you stressed this morning –hasn’t knocked God off His throne!

I love this story from the Gospels. It is a great example about how we respond to situations and circumstances in our lives and how God seems them.

How many would agree with me that people are more stressed out than ever before.

But the good news today is that despite the stress factors we face in our lives - God has a plan to help us face those stressful times with a peace that passes all understanding!

1. DON’T WORRY – JESUS IS IN YOUR BOAT – VS. 23

Mat 8:23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.

I want you to see this important truth here today. Jesus was in the boat with the disciples.

Hear me this morning… when Jesus in your boat it doesn’t matter what comes your way!

Storms aren’t an unusual experience – especially for fishermen.

Yet this storm has them worried.

How many know that we have a way of making the storms we face in life seem worse than they really are.

In fact the storm you’re going through right now always seem worse than the last one.

But for the disciples… this is the best place for them to be right now.

• Not because they are in a storm.

• Not because it is a terrible storm.

• Not because their lives are at stake.

• BUT BECAUSE OF WHO IS IN THE BOAT!

Look what God’s Word declares…