1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,040
Welcome to Trinity Sermons. Here at Trinity Church,

2
00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:11,160
Streetsville, we want to share messages that inspire you in your faith journey as

3
00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:16,360
we learn to gather to love Jesus, live like Jesus, and lead others to Jesus. Now

4
00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:21,900
this is episode 3 of our sermon series, Jesus is the Question. Today we are

5
00:00:21,900 --> 00:00:26,400
fortunate to have guest preacher with us, Reverend Peter Blundell, and today

6
00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:31,640
he will be preaching about the question Jesus asks his disciples, where is your

7
00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:36,000
faith? He asks this question when they all find themselves in a bad storm out

8
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,520
at sea. Now before we begin, please make sure to take a minute to follow our

9
00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:45,040
podcast so that you can stay up to date on all of our future episodes. We hope

10
00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:49,000
you enjoy the sermon today and God bless.

11
00:00:49,000 --> 00:01:02,620
Our reading is from Luke chapter 8 verses 22 to 25. One day Jesus said to

12
00:01:02,620 --> 00:01:08,720
his disciples, let us go over to the other side of the lake. So they got into

13
00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:17,200
a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the

14
00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:23,480
lake so that the boat was being swamped and they were in great danger. The

15
00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:30,520
disciples went and woke him saying, master we're going to drown. He got up

16
00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:37,200
and rebuked the wind and the raging waters. The storm subsided and all was

17
00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:45,360
calm. Where is your faith? he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they

18
00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:52,920
asked one another, who is this? He commands even the winds and the water

19
00:01:52,920 --> 00:02:03,160
and they obey him. Trinity, this is the word of the Lord. Good morning. Good to be

20
00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,440
with you. It's been I think six years since I was here. I don't know where. Who

21
00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:13,000
remembers six years ago? Covid. It's all a blank isn't it? My name is Peter and

22
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,400
it's a privilege to be able to share the word with you. I think they had too much

23
00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,960
fun making that video but it's great stuff. Lots of questions hey? But let's

24
00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:27,000
pray before we start. Heavenly Father we thank you for the spirit inspired

25
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,800
inerrant scriptures. We invite you to challenge us where we have become

26
00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:38,640
comfortable but we implore you to comfort us where we're being challenged

27
00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:45,000
and in the storms of life. And we ask this confidently in the name of Jesus

28
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:52,400
our Lord. Amen. Now there are a few crazy folk out there. I've met them. They enjoy

29
00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,520
storms. I've been caught up in a hurricane right in the middle of it. It's

30
00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:02,600
not fun. It's awful. Some people go and seek that. They're hurricane seekers. Good

31
00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:08,000
luck to them. In life we have storms that aren't just physical. They're the real

32
00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:15,240
deal. They come in. They smack us around and they can leave us really broken. But

33
00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:20,200
often when we look back we discover that we've learned things during the storm

34
00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:26,600
that we never would have learned if life had just been calm. So there's a number of

35
00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:31,800
things we're to learn from this storm that occurred for the disciples and

36
00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:36,720
Jesus that day on the Sea of Galilee. But before we go there and I hope you do

37
00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:42,240
have these notes somewhere near you in front of you. There's a key phrase that I

38
00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:47,160
put right at the top of these notes. It's a phrase or an understanding that

39
00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:51,840
occurs right throughout Scripture from the beginning. It appears most prominently

40
00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:56,920
with Abraham and onwards. It continues and it is actually the answer to this

41
00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:03,600
question is the way we would deal or not deal with issues and crises and fear and

42
00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:10,480
worry. And the question is this. It's very simple. Will the Lord provide for me, for

43
00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:17,440
us, and will he protect me? Will he protect us? Because if you believe that

44
00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:22,640
he can do that then an awful lot of the fears that we have go away. Okay I don't

45
00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,360
have to worry about that. That was the the focus of Jesus' teaching in Matthew

46
00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,420
chapter 6. He said what are you worried about these things for? Seek first the

47
00:04:30,420 --> 00:04:34,560
kingdom of God and all these other things that your father knows that you

48
00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:41,520
need will be given to you as well. So if we can trust him we will discover that

49
00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:48,400
God is a faithful God because he is a promise-keeping covenant-keeping God.

50
00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,440
I'm going to come back to that phrase throughout this talk. Hopefully by the end

51
00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,520
of it you'll go yes we know what you're going to say. But the idea is that we

52
00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:01,600
appropriate for ourselves. You see every single person, every single generation

53
00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:06,960
without exception has to learn this for themselves. There aren't shortcuts. There's

54
00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:11,880
no such thing as secondhand faith. We've got to learn it ourselves. It was

55
00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:16,800
true for Jesus' disciples. They had to learn this on the lake that day. It's true

56
00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:21,560
for us as well. That's why for example the Lord's Prayer. We all know the Lord's

57
00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,240
Prayer. I'm going to say it later in the service if you're not familiar with it.

58
00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:29,240
The latter part of the Lord's Prayer has four prayer requests, five I think prayer

59
00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:34,980
requests, but three of them at least are about the Lord's asking the Father to

60
00:05:34,980 --> 00:05:43,520
provide for us daily bread to protect us from temptation and evil. So let's get to

61
00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:48,460
this storm, this passage that we had read out. And I think the first thing to

62
00:05:48,460 --> 00:05:52,840
notice, this can come as a surprise if we don't study it, is that it was the Lord

63
00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:58,920
who led these disciples into the storm. He did it. It's Jesus who said we can't

64
00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,880
deny it. It's there in black and white. Let us go over to the other side of the

65
00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:08,080
lake. It was his idea. Now we can ask the question, did Jesus have any idea what

66
00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:12,480
they were getting into? And the answer is obviously yes he did. It didn't take him

67
00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:18,080
by surprise. God has not taken by surprise. It took the disciples by

68
00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,600
surprise. They clearly weren't expecting it. Remember a number of them were

69
00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:26,800
fishermen. They knew this lake like the back of their hands. And believe me if

70
00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:30,800
they thought that this enormous storm was coming they'd have taken Jesus to

71
00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,480
one side. They weren't shy about talking to Jesus and said whoa not a good

72
00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,960
idea. You're a landlubber, you're a carpenter. You don't know this lake like

73
00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:44,000
we do. We're not leaving the shore. Okay that's what they would have said. If

74
00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,160
you're not familiar with the Sea of Galilee it's about 21 kilometers long.

75
00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:53,360
It's about 11 kilometers wide. It sits in a depression which is 250 meters below

76
00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:58,400
sea level. It's surrounded by hills which rise up to what we might call mountains

77
00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:04,560
615 meters above sea level. If my math is correct that's 830 meters from the

78
00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:09,920
top of the mountain to the level of the water. And when the winds come they

79
00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:14,280
funnel down these mountains and these hills and they hit that lake and it

80
00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:19,140
becomes a sudden violent unpredictable unexpected storm. It's a very common

81
00:07:19,140 --> 00:07:26,040
occurrence. And what a storm that was. These fishermen they feared for their

82
00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:32,820
lives. So on the surface doesn't it seem a little bit crazy to you that that the

83
00:07:32,820 --> 00:07:39,140
sovereign Lord intentionally led them directly into this storm? Is that what we

84
00:07:39,140 --> 00:07:44,960
expect from Jesus? Oh you'd never do that we say. You know I've heard people say

85
00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:49,840
this. I've had the privilege of being a full-time pastor for 30 plus years and

86
00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:54,240
I've heard people say in the middle of a trial the Lord the Lord he didn't cause

87
00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:59,760
the trial he only allowed it. Some might even go a bit further and they say

88
00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:05,480
Satan not God caused this tragedy. Have you been there? I think that perhaps they

89
00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,520
think that by blaming Satan they're letting God off the hook. They're not

90
00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:15,920
letting God getting egg on his divine face. I mean why would you do that?

91
00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:19,440
Because you're frightened that people think that this God that you follow is

92
00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:24,560
not powerful enough to stop the storm or he's not loving enough to care that

93
00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:29,960
you're in it. And so we make excuses for God but the problem is we do so at the

94
00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:36,440
expense of God's sovereignty and that's a very bad equation. We're making him

95
00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:42,200
less than almighty if we make excuses for these things. The Bible clearly the

96
00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:47,920
Bible actually unashamedly claims that God is simultaneously both holy and

97
00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:56,320
sovereign and holy and loving. Now of course God does use Satan and his

98
00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:03,280
minions to bring trials just ask Job and he uses them to punish his people.

99
00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:07,360
Babylonians come rushing in and take out the southern kingdom of Judah for

100
00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:12,800
example. But again and I've given you this reference in your notes it appears

101
00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,760
many times in scriptures but I've just taken two verses to illustrate this.

102
00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:24,400
Isaiah 45 verses 6 and 7 just listen to these words. God speaking I am the Lord

103
00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:33,240
and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness. I bring prosperity

104
00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:43,000
yay we say but look at the next bit and create disaster. I the Lord do all these

105
00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:47,240
things not just the half not just the light and the prosperity but the

106
00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:55,400
darkness and the disaster I do them all. He's not ashamed to admit to this. Friends

107
00:09:55,400 --> 00:10:02,320
we will never find any comfort in our trials if we deny God's sovereignty. We'll

108
00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:08,760
only be comforted if we affirm God's absolute holy sovereignty and his

109
00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:15,960
unfailing holy love. Well this storm teaches us a number of things about our

110
00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:21,120
lives and life storms. We're reminded for example that storms can come suddenly

111
00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:27,880
they come out of the blue and they wallow us. You go I don't see that one coming. And right now

112
00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:32,760
some of you lucky few of you your life is really good the moment it's smooth

113
00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:35,760
sailing I don't wish this on you but you really don't know what's gonna happen

114
00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:40,320
this afternoon that led tomorrow or six months down the road. Something unexpected

115
00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:44,920
can happen that phone call could occur and you will find yourself in the middle

116
00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:55,760
of an unexpected crisis. Storms also test and they develop our character but here's

117
00:10:55,760 --> 00:11:02,000
the scary bit in the midst of a storm they reveal our character to others. The

118
00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:07,840
facade is stripped away. A picture I love drinking coffee I haven't had one today

119
00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:13,000
that could explain a lot and and picture me with my mug of coffee it's filled too

120
00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,200
full I always put more in and then I want to put my milk in and I should put

121
00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:20,360
them up anyway and I'm going along and then somebody accidentally bumps into me

122
00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:24,240
what happens the coffee comes out I mean that's fairly obvious you're going to go

123
00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:27,760
why is he stating the obvious because it makes me sound good but here's what

124
00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:34,720
happens when someone bumps into you and offends you or when a storm of life

125
00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:42,560
assails you then what spills out of you at that moment is what is inside you and

126
00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:47,600
the world gets to see the real you for better or for worse and we find ourselves

127
00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:51,680
saying whoops I don't know where that came from that's not the real me how many

128
00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:56,720
times we heard that phrase and the truth is that is the real you you've just

129
00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:02,160
kept it covered up for a very long time but now it's been revealed now what that

130
00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:07,640
means is the best time to develop our character and our maturity that we're

131
00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:11,880
going to need to ride these storms whether they come suddenly or build up

132
00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:19,560
over time but they're coming believe me is before they strike if you don't

133
00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:25,400
develop your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the calm times of life

134
00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:34,120
you won't know him nor will you know how to trust him in the storms so we learn

135
00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:39,820
the storm storms can hit suddenly but here's a wake-up call storms hit

136
00:12:39,820 --> 00:12:44,600
believers there's some people who think if I'm a follower of Jesus Christ

137
00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:50,720
nothing's gonna happen but storms hit those people who had Jesus actually in

138
00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:56,480
their boat I mean physically there in this case marks telling of this story

139
00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:00,700
tells us the storms hits other boats which were also on the lake that day

140
00:13:00,700 --> 00:13:05,320
Jesus wasn't physically present with them now if this was a fairy tale you

141
00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:10,360
know how I'd write it Jesus in their boat sails serenely through the storm

142
00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:14,840
they weren't touched not even a raindrop fell upon them whereas all the other

143
00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:19,360
boats were swamped with water and they sank and tongue lesson of the story

144
00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:27,280
have Jesus in your boat the truth is Christians are not magically exempted

145
00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:32,280
from the storms and trials of life just because Jesus in your boat or actually

146
00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:36,760
probably better to be in Jesus boat but that way around it doesn't mean it's

147
00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,920
going to be smooth sailing but let's just drill down a bit further because

148
00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:47,960
what we see is that this particular storm hit obedient disciples this isn't

149
00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,520
just one following Jesus but I could be being disobedient at the moment and that

150
00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:56,400
got me into trouble these guys were being obedient and Jesus still led them

151
00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,520
directly into the storm and then when I read that I think well that's great

152
00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:06,320
thanks Jesus obviously being obedient to you puts me smack dab in the middle of

153
00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,800
trouble I would be better off being disobedient and staying on the on the

154
00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:16,360
shore dangerous isn't it I don't think we would be but you know that's the way

155
00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:21,520
we can think I'm not following him he's dangerous ask Paul wherever Paul went

156
00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:27,520
two things happened revival or a sort of a rebellion a riot it was a fun being

157
00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:33,920
around Paul but it wasn't like nothing happened now Jesus of course sets the

158
00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:38,640
example for us doesn't he he led the way he said to his father not my will be

159
00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:42,760
done but yours and then he went obediently into the heart of the worst

160
00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:49,480
storm ever on the cross because it's one thing for the Lord to deliberately lead

161
00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:53,880
them and obediently lead them into the storm but it gets even worse and more

162
00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:58,240
puzzling is the fact that he checked out during the storm he leaves them to

163
00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:02,920
battle it all by himself this is the only time we actually get a specific

164
00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:07,560
mention of Jesus asleep I reckon he slept most days but he there he is asleep

165
00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:12,760
it shows that he's fully human but it shows us two important things here first

166
00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:18,120
that he was exhausted that's okay guys he done a lot of extensive ministry but

167
00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:24,520
second and this goes back to my opening statement it shows that he was totally

168
00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:30,120
confident in his father's protection he knew the storm was coming but he

169
00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:34,240
believes that the covenant-keeping promise-keeping God will provide and

170
00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:41,000
protect but that said what a great time to fall asleep Jesus you know wouldn't

171
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,640
it be better if you've been up there with them getting wet trying to pull on

172
00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:49,680
ropes whatever they do on boats and saying helpful things like hang in guys

173
00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:54,360
we're gonna make it when they felt better about that but just when they

174
00:15:54,360 --> 00:16:00,780
needed his calm assurance he zonked out at the back of the boat oblivious to

175
00:16:00,780 --> 00:16:10,040
everything on a serious note have you been there I've been there middle of the

176
00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:19,920
storm things are going completely crazy and I go where are you have you gone a

177
00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:25,080
wall have you left me alone if you have that moment when you pray and just

178
00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:29,560
bounces back off the ceiling well that's what it feels like it feels like you're

179
00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,920
bailing out the water like crazy and the waves are just overwhelming the boat and

180
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:41,800
you're about to sink and you're about to drown and you're saying where are you so

181
00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:46,680
we go back to the passage because that's why it's there and we say oh but the

182
00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:51,920
truth he is there the wonderful truth the encouraging truth is the Lord was

183
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:56,480
with them in the storm because he's promised that although it might appear

184
00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:02,000
that he's not with us in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5 he says never will I leave

185
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:09,720
you never will I forsake you now I'm it sometimes he waits to wear at the wits

186
00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:14,760
end doesn't he I'm right at the end of the rope I'm just holding on fingertip

187
00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:21,400
stuff it reveals to me how desperately I need him but now no matter what by the

188
00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:27,000
hurdy spirit he's always with us for good reason we celebrate that his name

189
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:34,920
is Emmanuel God with us so the very first thing we've got to do when we

190
00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:40,560
find ourselves in the storm of life is to affirm that Jesus Christ is Lord over

191
00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:46,520
any and every storm and that same Jesus is with us and for us and how do we do

192
00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:51,240
that we do it by reaffirming our trust here we go in the covenant-keeping

193
00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:59,120
promise-keeping God who will provide for us and who will protect us at all times

194
00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:04,480
now I put myself in the disciples shoes for a bit and I think if ever there was

195
00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:12,360
a time legitimately to panic this could be it I'm in the major storm the boats

196
00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:16,040
being swamped and I'm about to drown and if you don't know me I actually can't

197
00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:23,240
swim I can float but I'm not great at swimming okay so I'm is not great but

198
00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:31,440
Jesus rebukes not only the storm but the disciples for the lack of faith I've

199
00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,840
told you that storms have a habit of exposing things perhaps the most obvious

200
00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:41,660
thing they expose is a lack of trust in the Lord that's why Jesus had to

201
00:18:41,660 --> 00:18:50,760
challenge them where is your faith now faith is not faith until it's tested and

202
00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:56,680
everyone goes through testing including Jesus see when the waters calm we can

203
00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:02,920
fake it I can impress anybody in calm water but the storm reveals how much I've

204
00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:09,920
been trusting in my own painfully inadequate resources storms also have a

205
00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:16,800
way of exposing my selfishness my self-focus I don't whether you watch the

206
00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:21,280
sitcom Seinfeld I do find a bit of a giggle and there's that guy George who

207
00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:25,280
I probably associate more with than I should and and George is there at a

208
00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:30,200
children's party and he sees smoke and he shouts fire and the next thing you

209
00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,240
see him doing is he's pushing all the kids out of the way because he's gonna

210
00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:43,240
be the first to leave the house see when the disciples said to Jesus hey Jesus

211
00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:52,480
master master they said we are perishing the we probably included Jesus yeah but

212
00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:57,360
I suspect first and foremost in their in their minds was we're in trouble Jesus

213
00:19:57,360 --> 00:20:01,480
we are in trouble you've got to do something about it

214
00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:06,580
they're fit fearing first and foremost for themselves see believe me I can

215
00:20:06,580 --> 00:20:11,920
virtue signal with the best of you until I realize it's gonna cost me and at that

216
00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:18,640
point every man for himself okay women and children first great idea until I'm

217
00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,680
on the Titanic okay that's where I'm at and with

218
00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:27,640
self-centeredness come self-pity that's another sure sign that we've got a

219
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:34,480
distorted view of ourselves anytime I indulge in a pity party a whoa is me

220
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:42,160
attention grabbing moment a look at me anytime I put myself at the center of

221
00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:46,000
attention we need to hit the pause button we just start we need to breathe

222
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:50,360
we just say hang on we're told to fix our eyes on Jesus take your eyes off me

223
00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:54,880
I know I'm sorry I made a mistake it's Jesus we're gonna look at we get a big

224
00:20:54,880 --> 00:21:02,800
picture of what Jesus can do and who he is so storms reveal our distorted view

225
00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:10,000
of Jesus that's why the disciples asked in awe who is this and that actually was

226
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,880
their biggest problem wasn't it they didn't really get who Jesus was if

227
00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:19,920
they'd known they wouldn't have been so amazed what happened I mean think about

228
00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:24,080
this the very same God who said let us go over to the other side of the lake

229
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:32,680
had previously commanded let there be light and there was and so believe me

230
00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:36,840
those disciples were going across across the lake that's a non-negotiable

231
00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:41,920
God has said so really the only question was how comfortable was the trip gonna

232
00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:46,120
be was it gonna be above the water through the water or under the water but

233
00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:51,920
they're going across the lake because God has said so they underestimated

234
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:57,780
Jesus and as a result they underestimated both his power and his

235
00:21:57,780 --> 00:22:03,200
presence and we do the same thing when we panic in a crisis we try and solve

236
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:07,700
the problem ourselves we figure everything into the equation except the

237
00:22:07,700 --> 00:22:13,720
supernatural power of the Holy Spirit and we can sincerely believe we're

238
00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:18,200
trusting in the Lord we can pass the lie detector test until the storm hits and

239
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:23,800
then we realize that all along we've been trusting in our bank balance or our

240
00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:35,120
health or our job or the number of likes we get on Instagram how big is your God

241
00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:43,000
if you put him in a box is he that small personally my God is infinite I follow

242
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:50,760
the most high God the Lord Almighty but again I can hear the disciples protesting

243
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:55,000
hang on whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa we were trusting in the Lord that's why we work

244
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:59,960
him up that's why we bleed it with him to save us but clearly that wasn't faith

245
00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:05,440
because Jesus rebuked them and said where is your faith what they needed

246
00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:10,160
most in this dire situation was to trust the living God and that is what we need

247
00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:15,120
most to now the Bible talks about three types of faith I've given you this in

248
00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:21,240
your notes there's believing faith that's the faith we all need to accept

249
00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:26,080
Jesus Christ as our Lord and be born again and Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8

250
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:31,760
and 9 tells us that this believing faith is given to us by God so that no one

251
00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:36,000
can boast no one can say and claim that they made any contribution to their

252
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:40,100
salvation including the faith needed to believe none of us had that we had to be

253
00:23:40,100 --> 00:23:43,960
given it that's where no one can excuse themselves I'm not a follower Jesus I

254
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:48,960
don't have your faith doesn't make sense God will give it to you second faith

255
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,560
the faith for miracles first Corinthians chapter 12 verse 9

256
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:57,520
Holy Spirit gives all of these spiritual gifts including this this gift of faith

257
00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:04,920
but we see in verse 11 that he gives them just as he determines the gifts that

258
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:07,840
you have received is because the Holy Spirit determined that you would have

259
00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,080
them which means that we don't get jealous of what somebody else's got and

260
00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:16,200
we don't get proud of what we have and so it means that no one can boast it's a

261
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:24,680
gift but the third is the day-to-day faith that's the one we choose to use

262
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:29,160
it's like a muscle we have to exercise we have to believe day to day in the

263
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:35,000
promises of our good and our holy God and Jesus told us that this faith has

264
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:42,800
to be the size of a grain of mustard seed that's the faith Jesus is referring

265
00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:49,040
to when he asked where is your faith now notice what Jesus didn't ask them he

266
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:55,520
didn't ask them how big is your faith why not because he couldn't care less

267
00:24:55,520 --> 00:25:02,880
it's not about being your faith is it's about where or in whom have you placed

268
00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:09,720
your faith Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 now faith is being sure of what we hope

269
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:17,240
for and certain of what we do not see so faith is a four letter word spelt s u r

270
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:25,040
e sure you see ultimately it's not the size of your faith that matters it's

271
00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:31,200
your faith in God's faithfulness that matters you're putting your faith in the

272
00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:40,020
faithful one will he be faithful I put my mustard seed faith in him will the

273
00:25:40,020 --> 00:25:46,880
promise-keeping covenant-keeping God provide and protect you in the storms in

274
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:52,120
the trials in the setbacks and in the suffering of life and the answer is yes

275
00:25:52,120 --> 00:25:57,480
and you can be sure of this and you can be confident of this and that my friends

276
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:02,920
is faith just as an aside Jesus only commended two people for their great

277
00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:11,360
faith a centurion and a Canaanite mum both of them Gentiles not Jews which

278
00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:16,760
means that by inference having great faith is very rare it's unusual and you

279
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:21,960
know what this is very comforting the father knows that so here's a bit that I

280
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:29,360
like it means as great value in weak faith yeah everybody nod okay that

281
00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:34,360
includes me I mean however weak or indeed non-existent the faith of the

282
00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:39,760
disciples was at least they woke up Jesus at least they did that and even

283
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:45,040
though he rebuked them for not using the faith that they did have he still heard

284
00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:52,840
their cries and he still calm the storm so be encouraged though your faith may

285
00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:58,600
be weak it will still be sufficient for you to go confidently to Jesus he will

286
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:04,900
hear your cry he will answer your prayer but faith in the Lord is not an

287
00:27:04,900 --> 00:27:11,880
automatic thing it's something we have to choose to exercise I find it helpful

288
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:17,040
to remind myself on occasions of how God has been faithful to me and to others

289
00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:21,360
it's one of the reasons that I read the scriptures every morning because when I

290
00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:25,200
see how God helped the Jews and other such people in their hopeless and

291
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:31,480
difficult situations it raises my faith and then I choose to pray out loud I put

292
00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:37,920
my confidence in my promise-keeping covenant-keeping father the crucial

293
00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:43,800
question is actually uttered by the disciples who is this clearly Jesus was

294
00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:48,040
fully human he had a body he got so exhausted he could sleep in the midst of

295
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:54,840
this storm but not only is he fully human he's also fully divine he simply

296
00:27:54,840 --> 00:28:03,200
spoke and the winds ceased and the waves stopped I'm told by the clever people

297
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:09,600
the instant stopping of wind can happen but not water you see the waves should

298
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,120
keep going because of something called kinetic energy and now out of my depth

299
00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:17,360
when it comes to science but I hope someone's nodding kinetic energy keeps

300
00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:23,680
the waves going but in this case all was calm and this in particular is what

301
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:31,220
freaked out the disciples so Jesus full humanity encourages us because he

302
00:28:31,220 --> 00:28:36,760
understands suffering on a personal level but his full deity also encourages

303
00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:44,880
us because he is powerful to act on our behalf nothing is too difficult for the

304
00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:52,760
living God not a breath of wind not a drop of water can defy his sovereign

305
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:58,920
will the better we know him the better we can trust him in our trials I

306
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:05,240
guarantee that if you actively trust the Lord Jesus in your current trial your

307
00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:11,480
faith will be strengthened to trust him in the next storm but whilst the wind

308
00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:17,160
and the water they had no option they had to obey the Lord Jesus that was that

309
00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:23,520
was the way it is we of course have free will we can choose to disobey and the

310
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:29,840
reality is all too often we do so notice first the disciples were fearing the

311
00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:35,480
storm and then they feared the Lord you see what happened they feared the storm

312
00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,440
because of their lack of faith they feared the Lord because now they're in

313
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:47,520
awe of his power I wrote this talk I put an amen at that point I thought I've

314
00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:54,760
covered it I'll expect a big round of applause and then the Holy Spirit said

315
00:29:54,760 --> 00:30:03,280
typical half a job oh well half a job and what do you mean there's an elephant

316
00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:07,600
in the room and you've skirted round it and there's a lot of people when you're

317
00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:11,220
speaking they're nobody's fool they know you've skirted around the elephant in

318
00:30:11,220 --> 00:30:16,400
the room you have to at least talk about it even if you don't know the answers and

319
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:20,560
so yeah I'm going to talk about the elephant in the room and some of you're

320
00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:26,800
going like thank you that's really what I wanted to hear because here's the truth

321
00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:36,600
sometimes the boat sinks even if we're trusting and obedient to Jesus that's

322
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:40,480
the elephant in the room isn't it sometimes the phone call comes and says

323
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:46,640
it's stage four cancer sometimes you walk into the office and the boss says

324
00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:53,720
come in we don't need you anymore sometimes the letter arrives in the

325
00:30:53,720 --> 00:31:02,560
mail and the bill is so big you go like we can't do this sometimes the family

326
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:09,920
breakup is so awful do I need to go on John the Baptist wasn't delivered from

327
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:15,200
prison was he he asked Jesus why am I still here effectively he lost his head

328
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,640
Jesus had to go through the cross Stephen was stoned do I have to go on

329
00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:24,640
they it happens doesn't it and in these extremely difficult times what happens

330
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:32,800
if you begin to doubt is there any room for questioning and uncertainty I think

331
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:36,800
about the father of the epileptic boy do you remember him he said Lord I believe

332
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:44,080
that's faith help my lack of belief that's doubt what happened the good news

333
00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:51,960
is Jesus healed his son friends every Christian has doubts they can be

334
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:59,400
extremely tough they can be very real and that's okay in fact it's normal if

335
00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:05,840
these doubts are wisely addressed they often are a catalyst to spiritual growth

336
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:11,400
now most people believe and this is the problem that doubt is the opposite of

337
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:20,920
faith it isn't unbelief is the opposite of faith and unbelief is a killer Jesus

338
00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:26,640
could only perform a few miracles in his hometown because of their unbelief so

339
00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:31,520
unbelief is the willful refusal to believe but doubt is the inner

340
00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:37,280
uncertainty the word doubt has its roots in the word double that's why there's a

341
00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:40,880
silent be in the word it means to be in two minds about something it means

342
00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:46,280
you're not sure it's the middle ground between what you know is true where

343
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:50,920
you've placed your confidence and your faith and what you know is false and you

344
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:54,880
have rejected and it's essential therefore to work through these middle

345
00:32:54,880 --> 00:33:01,400
ground issues so many people mistakenly think that struggling with God means

346
00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:08,360
that they lack faith but it's not true read the Psalms it's okay to question

347
00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:14,840
God Jesus will not rebuke you his desire is to build up your faith how big is

348
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:21,680
your God my God runs the universe without my help my doubts are not going

349
00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:27,640
to upset him tell him your doubts cry out to him for help struggling with God

350
00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:33,960
is actually a sure sign that you do have faith in fact if you never struggle you

351
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:40,080
will never grow in your faith the key is to believe your beliefs and to doubt

352
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:43,840
your doubts we get into trouble when this gets crossed over and we start

353
00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:51,120
believing our doubts and doubting our beliefs now we're in trouble what we

354
00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:56,960
should do of course is to keep our eyes on Jesus but let me come back to the

355
00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:03,040
crucial question what do we do if we trust in the Lord and the miracle

356
00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:11,280
doesn't happen and the boat still sinks well then my friend we keep trusting in

357
00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:20,640
the Lord and we worship Jesus even as we go under the water we go down with our

358
00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:25,720
eyes on Jesus we follow the example of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail we

359
00:34:25,720 --> 00:34:31,880
sing we state our faith and we can only do that if we have invested in our

360
00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:36,520
relationship with him if we've discovered that it is true that he is a

361
00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:43,640
promise-keeping covenant-keeping God then we can say with Paul for me to live

362
00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:51,040
as Christ and to die is gain Philippians chapter 1 do you know Jesus in this way

363
00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:59,960
if you don't I beg you seek him now don't wait until the storm hits trust

364
00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:04,720
him now as your Lord and your Savior as your brother as your friend as your only

365
00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:10,600
hope for heaven learn to trust him daily with your mustard seed of faith in the

366
00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:17,080
small problems that you face so that when not if but when the hurricane hits

367
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:24,360
whether he instantly calms it or whether your boat sinks you can know the peace

368
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:29,000
the world cannot know the peace that goes beyond understanding the true peace

369
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:39,000
that comes from trusting Jesus the Lord over all of life storms let's pray

370
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:43,840
heavenly father we thank you for the promise that no matter what happens

371
00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:48,720
nothing can ever snatch us out of your hand or separate us from your love we

372
00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:56,520
are so grateful Lord Jesus thank you for being Emmanuel God with us as we keep

373
00:35:56,520 --> 00:36:01,960
our thoughts and eyes on you the author and perfecter of our faith we invite you

374
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:05,360
to be the Lord of every aspect of our lives

375
00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:12,520
Holy Spirit thank you for growing within us the spiritual fruit of peace may we

376
00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:17,640
know this shalom in the midst of every storm we ask all these things in the name

377
00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:24,280
of our Lord Jesus Christ amen again thanks for listening to the sermon today

378
00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:27,920
if you found the message thought-provoking and inspiring please

379
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:31,560
feel free to rate our podcast so that we can better share the message of good

380
00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:37,400
news with others this sermon was taken from the August 6 2023 service at Trinity

381
00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:44,560
Church streetsville in Mississauga Ontario