The message was brought by Rev. Eddie Foster on 10/29/23.
Luke 8:22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. 23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
After Jesus taught all morning he moved to the seaside and taught many parables. It was a busy day for Christ. Approaching evening he was tired. Getting in a boat with his disciples he went to the back and slept. He was God but he was a man; he got tired. A storm came. Just like life, things can be going well and all of a sudden a storm pops up. What should we do: what the disciples did–call on the Lord. Some of the disciples were fishermen; they were used to storms. This must have been a very bad one because they thought they were going to die. They woke Jesus and he calmed the storm. The disciples declared: What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him. I want us to remember a few things.
Fear and faith cannot coexist. II Timothy 1:7 says For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Some people have a fear of failure, a fear of death or any number of other things. We need to trust the Lord. There is a good fear. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Even in difficulty we can have a calm confidence in the Lord. He’s piloting the ship! He’ll get us there to the other side.
Being in a storm doesn’t mean God has left us. Jesus was in the boat. He’s in our “boat” and ready to help. His presence doesn’t mean there won’t be storms. Joseph had many storms: sold as a slave; falsely accused and put in jail. We have no record of any wrong in his life, yet he had storms. Daniel was a man of God, yet he was put into a den of lions. Paul was a man of God, yet he was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and beheaded for the cause of Christ. Even if you live for Jesus, there will be storms. It rains on the just and the unjust.
We are all held with Christ in God. We all hide valuables. We’re valuable to God. Colossians 3:3 says For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Nothing can touch us unless God gives Satan permission. He promised to never put more on us than we can bear. No wonder the author of “Rock of Ages” said “Rock of Ages. Cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee.” When storms come, God is still available to us. Nothing is too big or too small and insignificant for our God. Peter told us to cast all our care upon the Lord because he cares for us.
A storm may come from God to bring us to him. The disciples ignored Jesus in the back of the boat until the storm came. It brought them to him. In this life, the rich man gave no thought to the beggar named Lazarus; he gave no thought to God. He died and one moment in hell got his attention. It was too late for him, but he begged that Lazarus come back to life and warn his brothers so they wouldn’t end up in hell. Don’t wait too late to come to Jesus. It must be done in this life.
Be like the disciples and realize that salvation comes through Jesus. They knew that to get out of the mess of this terrible storm, it would take Jesus. We’re either in a storm, headed into a storm, or coming out of one. Jesus can calm the storms of life.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 