1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,680 I hope you brought your Bible with you this morning. 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:09,040 If you don't have a Bible, we do have some in our pews that you're welcome to use this 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:12,680 morning and actually if you don't have a Bible at all, you're welcome to take it. 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:14,240 It's a gift from our church to you. 5 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:18,160 We want you to have a copy of God's Word in your hand. 6 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:23,560 In the front you'll find some table of contents and look for the Gospel of Mark and that's 7 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:30,760 where we are in the fourth chapter. 8 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:34,800 You see the picture of the tornado recently that showed a pickup truck flying through 9 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,360 the air because of the force of the winds. 10 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:42,720 I saw one not long ago in which a cow was actually flying through the air. 11 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:43,720 You say, well what happened? 12 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:53,920 Well, it was utter disaster. 13 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:58,440 Not only was it a bad tornado, but it was raining chickens and ducks. 14 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:03,600 It was really foul weather. 15 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:08,680 Now I can continue on with this, but if you will stay awake, I'll stop. 16 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:14,120 But I do warn you that if I see anybody getting drowsy, I'll go back to the jokes. 17 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,280 That's a warning. 18 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,440 Watching the weather is part of my DNA. 19 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:27,120 I suppose that's because I've lived most of my life in the Midwest where there is weather. 20 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:31,480 You have to feel very sorry for the meteorologists out here in the Bay Area. 21 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,720 They go to school for years to learn how to do this and then they get assigned to the 22 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:37,120 Bay Area. 23 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:38,240 Right? 24 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:44,640 I mean that's like going to school for zoology and getting assigned to Antarctica where there 25 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:49,120 are hardly any birds or any animals or anything down there. 26 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:56,440 I mean weather doesn't hardly exist here, but weather does exist in Israel. 27 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:02,680 In fact, there's some fascinating things about the situation in Israel. 28 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:09,040 There's a map I want to put on the screen for you of Israel to show you the situation 29 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:10,640 there. 30 00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:14,480 It can be cool and wet in the mountains of Israel. 31 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:21,120 Cool and wet there, but down near the Dead Sea, for example, just 15 miles away as the 32 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:28,320 crow flies, as we say in the Midwest, just 15 miles away and downhill all the way, you 33 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:33,080 find a very hot arid desert around the Dead Sea vicinity. 34 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,280 It's 1,300 feet below sea level there. 35 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,680 Jerusalem is some 2,000 feet above sea level. 36 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:46,300 So the difference in the altitude, the difference in the conditions of the two places causes 37 00:02:46,300 --> 00:02:49,440 some interesting weather phenomena. 38 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:55,120 In the northern part of this tiny country, you have Mount Hermon that rises some 9,200 39 00:02:55,120 --> 00:03:02,200 feet into the air on a shared border with Lebanon and Syria. 40 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:07,640 Let's go on to the next slide with the picture of Mount Hermon on it, please. 41 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:10,360 It's snow-capped year-round. 42 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:15,480 Up there around that mountain that's on the top part of that slide, they have 60 inches 43 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,360 of precipitation annually. 44 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,840 The runoff from the snow and the water that falls upon that mountain together with the 45 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:29,920 springs that actually flow out of the base of Mount Hermon form what we call the Jordan 46 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:31,920 River. 47 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:40,720 The Jordan River then flows down through Israel along what is called the Jordan Rift Valley. 48 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:47,660 That valley is the longest, deepest, and whitest fissure on the earth's surface. 49 00:03:47,660 --> 00:03:49,120 It's part of it. 50 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:55,040 The whole fissure reaches not only from the northern part of Israel, but all the way down 51 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,080 into the continent of Africa itself. 52 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,440 It's called the Afro-Arabian Rift. 53 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:09,880 The Jordan River, as it flows southward along this rift line, forms a lake, a lake that 54 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:16,600 is located in the ancient caldera, or a volcanic crater that has collapsed many, many, many 55 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,000 years ago. 56 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:26,560 As the river flows southward into that caldera, it forms a lake that is called after the region 57 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:27,560 where it's located. 58 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,200 It's called the Sea of Galilee. 59 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:35,760 Then of course the water flows out of the Sea of Galilee on down to the Dead Sea. 60 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:41,880 Now the Sea of Galilee is also below sea level. 61 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:46,640 It's because of the situation where it's located that you have the reality of what we read 62 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:52,320 about today, beginning in verse 35 of Mark chapter 4. 63 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,920 That day when evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, let us go over to the other 64 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,120 side. 65 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:04,760 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along just as he was in the boat. 66 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:07,880 There were also other boats with him. 67 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:15,840 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. 68 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:21,160 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. 69 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:27,000 The disciples woke him and said to him, teacher, don't you care if we drown? 70 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:34,240 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, quiet, be still. 71 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:38,080 Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 72 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:42,840 He said to his disciples, why are you so afraid? 73 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:45,440 Do you still have no faith? 74 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:50,240 They were terrified and asked each other, who is this? 75 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:56,200 Even the wind and the waves obey him. 76 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:01,560 If you've ever been caught in a storm, particularly when you've been in a boat on a large body 77 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:08,200 of water, you can perhaps identify in a special way with what happens here in the text. 78 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:10,260 The wind came up suddenly. 79 00:06:10,260 --> 00:06:12,640 The waves were rocking the boat. 80 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:18,920 The motion of that boat up and down and around, facing death by drowning, which would not 81 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:23,720 be the favorite way most of us would choose to die. 82 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,560 These are not the kinds of things that you think of on a pleasant boat ride across to 83 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,280 the other side of the lake. 84 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:35,680 But weather can change, and it can change suddenly, and you can find yourself in trouble, 85 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:40,000 as some of you know from even San Francisco Bay. 86 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,920 I want to draw a parallel from what happens here to life. 87 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:55,500 As change occurs in weather patterns, so life changes from pleasant calm to violent storms, 88 00:06:55,500 --> 00:07:00,520 and sometimes it does that in a big hurry. 89 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:06,440 By studying our text today about this storm, this late day boat ride with Jesus and his 90 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:14,600 disciples, you and I can learn some lessons about the storms in our lives as well. 91 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:22,480 The first lesson I want you to notice is this, that storms come to those in the will of God. 92 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,560 Storms come to those in the will of God. 93 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:30,120 Everybody has them, storms that is. 94 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:38,400 Storms that bring turbulence to our routines, that destabilize our security, that threaten 95 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:39,640 our comfort zones. 96 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:41,240 Am I not right? 97 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:43,720 Don't we all have storms? 98 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,720 It may be the sudden loss of a job. 99 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:51,960 You go to work on Friday thinking this is like any other Friday, a TGIF day, and you 100 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:59,320 find there on your desk a letter from the company saying, it's time to check out. 101 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:06,760 Then suddenly you enter into a storm, or you get that knock at the door. 102 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:14,200 You've wondered why your teenager has been late getting home, and you go to the door, 103 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:18,960 and there's a police officer there. 104 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:24,400 You're cruising down life pretty well as a teenager, and things aren't perfect at home, 105 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:29,520 but as far as you know, mom and dad are okay, and then suddenly one of them announces to 106 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:36,440 you, we don't love each other anymore, and we're going to get a divorce. 107 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:40,600 Talk about a storm. 108 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:44,500 You have worked hard, all of your college career. 109 00:08:44,500 --> 00:08:50,520 You have worked to get the grades you need to get into a certain grad school, and then 110 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:57,840 you get the letter back that it wasn't quite enough, and you didn't make it. 111 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,240 Or you go to your doctor for your annual routine. 112 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:04,680 It's just one of those things that you do, and you expect everything to be fine, but 113 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:11,800 the doctor says, hmm, there's something here that I don't like. 114 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:16,240 I think we better do some more testing. 115 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,800 These are the storms that come to life, folks. 116 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:22,760 Why do God's people have storms? 117 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,960 After all, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, I thought everything was supposed to get sweeter 118 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:29,300 every day. 119 00:09:29,300 --> 00:09:32,360 I thought that there was supposed to be joy and peace, and everything was going to be 120 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:37,740 hunky-dory once I accepted Jesus into my life. 121 00:09:37,740 --> 00:09:44,800 Some Christians view storms as God's way of punishing them for something. 122 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:49,760 Something bad happens, and so they say, uh-oh, God is mad at me. 123 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:56,360 And so he has created this tempest in my life right now to tell me how unhappy he is and 124 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:58,880 how badly I've messed up. 125 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:01,820 That's their theology of storms. 126 00:10:01,820 --> 00:10:07,640 They see it as God's punishment for something they've done. 127 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:15,320 Could I just encourage you to get rid of the word punishment in your vocabulary with your 128 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:19,380 relationship with God if he's your father? 129 00:10:19,380 --> 00:10:23,640 God is not out to punish you. 130 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:28,880 There are times that he allows us to experience the consequences of our own sins so that by 131 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:34,280 that difficulty, that suffering, we can learn some lessons. 132 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:40,760 But God has poured out all of his punishment for our sins upon Christ. 133 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,360 Christ has borne our punishment for us. 134 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:51,000 God does not have temper tantrums and creates storms in order to punish us. 135 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:55,960 Indeed, in this text, we don't observe anything here to say that the disciples were out of 136 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:56,960 the will of God. 137 00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:59,520 In fact, it's just the opposite. 138 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:06,680 They were very much in the will of God because God had said to them, let's go to the other 139 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:10,200 side. 140 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,680 They were talking about the Sea of Galilee, of course. 141 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:18,480 So from the area of Capernaum on the west side of the sea, they were going to go to 142 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:25,480 the east side, to the region of the Gerasenes. 143 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:27,040 They were exactly in the will of God. 144 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:30,640 There's absolutely no doubt about it in this text. 145 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:35,440 And yet, being in the will of God, there was this furious storm that came up. 146 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:39,480 Mark, excuse me, Matthew says, without warning. 147 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:48,120 Now, weather is in my DNA, it was certainly in the DNA of this crowd. 148 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:53,040 They didn't have weather forecasters except for themselves. 149 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:56,680 They knew how to read the signs. 150 00:11:56,680 --> 00:12:02,160 And they were caught in this storm completely unaware. 151 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:07,680 The Sea of Galilee is, of course, susceptible to violent storms because of that situation 152 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:09,880 I described to you. 153 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:18,280 Being down in the basin, well below sea level, the basin of this collapsed ancient volcano 154 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:23,600 at 650 feet below sea level, the temperature builds up there. 155 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:28,060 And as a result of that, the cooler air from the Mediterranean Sea as it moves across the 156 00:12:28,060 --> 00:12:34,160 mountains of Galilee is sucked down into this basin by that hot air. 157 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:40,080 And the movement of that air coming down into that basin, well below sea level, causes furious 158 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:45,160 storms, wind storms to be created. 159 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:51,360 Will you write it on your heart that storms in your life do not necessarily signal that 160 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,360 you are out of God's will? 161 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:59,960 It's a wrong assumption to think that you are. 162 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:06,320 Now, it's always good to examine our lives, I believe, when storms come. 163 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:11,080 There are times that we can suffer because of our own foolishness, our own ignorance, 164 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:12,440 our own bad choices. 165 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:15,260 Jonah did, for example, right? 166 00:13:15,260 --> 00:13:18,080 And he got into a storm. 167 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:19,940 But don't let the enemy confuse you. 168 00:13:19,940 --> 00:13:24,920 Remember that Job did nothing to deserve the storm that came to him. 169 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:30,440 But what about our Lord Jesus and the sufferings that came to him in his ministry and then 170 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,040 in his death? 171 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:34,680 He was in the will of God. 172 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:43,760 In this case, God allowed this storm to come about in order to test the faith of the disciples. 173 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:47,360 You see, this storm came at the end of a particular day. 174 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,360 It was the day in which Jesus was teaching about the kingdom. 175 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:57,160 Now, what had they learned from Jesus? 176 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:00,800 It's not enough to hear a sermon. 177 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:05,880 It's not even enough to take notes on the sermon. 178 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:11,240 It matters how much we apply it to our lives, and that's what God wanted to know. 179 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:17,320 How much had the disciples really absorbed and applied? 180 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:22,840 So the first lesson I want you to see is this, that storms come to those who are in the will 181 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:23,840 of God. 182 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:30,600 And the fact that you are passing through a storm this morning is God's way of testing 183 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:31,600 you. 184 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:36,600 It is God's way of seeing what's true about you. 185 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:41,000 I want to talk some more about that in a moment, but there's a second observation that I want 186 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:48,120 to make that we see in verse 36, where Mark inserts a sentence that is not found in the 187 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:51,040 other accounts of this event. 188 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:57,440 He says, there were also other boats with him. 189 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,040 Who were these people? 190 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,280 We don't know. 191 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:07,480 Most likely they were other disciples who wanted to come along with Jesus and the twelve 192 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,120 who were in the lead boat. 193 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:15,240 And so others who had boats available to them at Capernaum said, hey, Jesus and his twelve 194 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:16,840 are going across the sea. 195 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:20,720 Let's go along. 196 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:26,280 You and I need to remember that when we're in the vortex of a storm in our lives, there 197 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:33,240 are very often other people who are along for the ride. 198 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:37,360 Our storm may well sweep them into its vortex. 199 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:47,960 Now that may not seem fair, but a mom and dad are having trouble in their marriage. 200 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:56,360 It is not fair that the children bear the consequences of that, but they do. 201 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:03,640 They are along for the ride. 202 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:11,160 In this case, Jesus and his disciples encounter a storm and others experience the storm along 203 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:13,960 with them. 204 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,760 We need to remember that our storms affect others. 205 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,820 Sometimes that's hard to remember when you yourself feel endangered. 206 00:16:20,820 --> 00:16:22,320 You feel threatened. 207 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:26,060 Your world is upset and you get your eyes really focused inward. 208 00:16:26,060 --> 00:16:29,700 But it's good for all of us in the midst of our storms to look out and see who else is 209 00:16:29,700 --> 00:16:33,080 being affected by what I'm going through. 210 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:34,880 Sometimes we can find comfort. 211 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,080 We can bring aid to them. 212 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:44,040 Sometimes the group experience, the support group that that provides is good for us. 213 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:46,920 Very often there are other boats along for the ride. 214 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:50,920 Who are they? 215 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:54,360 What is God doing in their lives? 216 00:16:54,360 --> 00:17:01,000 The third observation is that storms reveal what's really inside of us. 217 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,840 They reveal what's really inside of us, and that's what God wanted to find out about the 218 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:07,160 disciples. 219 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:11,240 These disciples were absolutely terrified by the storm. 220 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:15,480 Now listen, that says something about the storm because at least half of this group 221 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:17,640 were fishermen. 222 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:19,060 They lived on this lake. 223 00:17:19,060 --> 00:17:23,120 They knew this lake like the palm of their hand. 224 00:17:23,120 --> 00:17:29,480 But even they were terrified by what they were experiencing, which suggests to us that 225 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:35,480 this was more than just a natural storm, that there was something supernatural going on 226 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:37,320 here. 227 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:46,040 That the forces of the evil one were at work churning up these waters, enhancing the wind 228 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:51,880 so that this storm was way, way out of the ordinary. 229 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:59,640 These frightened disciples go back into the stern of the boat where Jesus is asleep. 230 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,120 Yes asleep. 231 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:07,480 And they say to him, teacher, don't you care? 232 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,480 Don't you care? 233 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:13,400 You say, well why is Jesus asleep? 234 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,720 I'll tell you why, he's tired. 235 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:20,040 The same reason you sleep. 236 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,000 He's absolutely exhausted. 237 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,600 The crowds have been around him. 238 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:25,080 He has taught all day long. 239 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:28,560 He is exhausted to the bone. 240 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:30,600 And so he goes to the back of the boat. 241 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:34,840 He puts his head on the little cushion that would be there. 242 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:38,240 And he is asleep. 243 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:44,640 By the way, this is the only reference we have in the gospels to Jesus sleeping. 244 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:48,900 Now he slept every night, more or less. 245 00:18:48,900 --> 00:18:51,440 Just like you did, because he was human. 246 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,560 But this is the only time where that's really specifically said. 247 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:56,560 In the middle of a storm. 248 00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:01,040 And the experience of all of this now brings out the truth about the twelve. 249 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:03,040 They've heard Jesus talking. 250 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:07,560 They've even had some understanding of his miracles and who he says he is. 251 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:12,520 But do they really know? 252 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:17,560 Your storms and mine bring out the truth about us too. 253 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:21,300 When we feel threatened. 254 00:19:21,300 --> 00:19:25,480 When we are afraid of being abandoned. 255 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:31,600 When our comfort zone is pushed. 256 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:36,160 When our feelings of security are under attack. 257 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:41,920 What's really inside of us have a way of worming themselves out. 258 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:46,240 And our character is revealed. 259 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:52,760 The real level of our spiritual maturity is exposed at that point. 260 00:19:52,760 --> 00:20:02,480 We see the reaction of the disciples being not only fear, but also doubtful. 261 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,080 And a lack of understanding about who Jesus was. 262 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,320 In fact, they're very rude to Jesus. 263 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:11,080 The way they express this is rude. 264 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,200 One translation says it this way. 265 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:20,640 Are we to drown for all you care? 266 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:26,320 And Jesus woke up and expected that they would have had greater faith. 267 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,960 But I ask you, what would you have done? 268 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:35,040 If you had been in this boat, how would you have responded? 269 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:45,360 Well, the first question that comes to my mind is, why should I not be afraid? 270 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:49,280 Why should I be a person of faith in the midst of this storm? 271 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:53,560 Well, there's an answer to that. 272 00:20:53,560 --> 00:21:02,180 First of all, they should have been men of faith because they had a promise from Jesus. 273 00:21:02,180 --> 00:21:06,720 And he said, let's go across the lake, he didn't say, let's go out there and sink the 274 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,320 boat. 275 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,260 He said, let us go where? 276 00:21:12,260 --> 00:21:14,560 He said, let's go across the lake to the other side. 277 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:17,820 They were going to get there. 278 00:21:17,820 --> 00:21:20,640 They had Jesus' word about that. 279 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,560 But they had forgotten his promise. 280 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,240 They also had his presence. 281 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:27,740 They had seen Jesus' miracles. 282 00:21:27,740 --> 00:21:29,420 They had seen him deliver from demons. 283 00:21:29,420 --> 00:21:32,080 They had seen him heal sick people. 284 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:33,840 The crippled were made whole. 285 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,640 They had seen all of this. 286 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:41,400 And he, the one, the miracle worker, he was with them in the boat. 287 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:47,560 But at that moment, they forgot that he was with them. 288 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:53,720 They also had his pattern, the pattern he was giving to them. 289 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:54,720 What was that pattern? 290 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,960 Well, it was that he was sleeping. 291 00:21:57,960 --> 00:21:59,060 Why was he sleeping? 292 00:21:59,060 --> 00:22:05,720 Because he knew his father was going to take care of him. 293 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:06,720 He knew that. 294 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,040 And so he was asleep. 295 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:11,440 The disciples should have known that. 296 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,760 That was the pattern Jesus was giving to them. 297 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:21,760 I can lay my soul down and rest, be asleep because the Lord is looking after me. 298 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:23,500 But aren't we very much like the disciples? 299 00:22:23,500 --> 00:22:27,880 We forget the promises of God in our storm. 300 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:33,220 We forget that he promised, I will never leave you or forsake you. 301 00:22:33,220 --> 00:22:42,880 We forget the example that he gave us, that we can trust God. 302 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:50,120 Peter reminds us, cast all your anxiety on God because he cares for you. 303 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:53,800 Oh yes, we all know that. 304 00:22:53,800 --> 00:23:00,760 But the storms, they show whether we really have learned that. 305 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:07,000 Here's a fourth observation I want to make, a lesson that we come to, and that is that 306 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,760 the storms respond to the intervention of Jesus. 307 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:18,520 Jesus gets up and he rebukes the wind, and then he speaks to the waves. 308 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,600 So why did he rebuke the wind? 309 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:26,480 Well it's a suggestion, there's something more at work here than just the physical forces, 310 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:28,400 number one. 311 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:32,360 But he actually speaks to these physical forces. 312 00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:36,960 And he says, quiet, be still. 313 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:42,680 You see Jesus is bigger than anything that his disciples could encounter on that lake. 314 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:49,000 And I want you to know that he's bigger than any storm that you can encounter in your life 315 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:50,960 too. 316 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:54,680 There's nothing bigger than Jesus. 317 00:23:54,680 --> 00:24:02,240 Any storm is nothing compared to omnipotence. 318 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:07,120 Now there are times when the Lord seems to be asleep in the back of the boat, doesn't 319 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:08,240 he? 320 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:12,040 And we're tempted to wonder, well where is God in my storm? 321 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:17,560 But let me tell you, he is as fully aware in heaven of your predicament on earth as 322 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:24,920 he was aware of what was going on in that boat on the Sea of Galilee 2,000 years ago. 323 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:31,080 And omnipotence stood up in that boat and he dealt with the threat that his disciples 324 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:32,080 faced. 325 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:38,360 And he's able to deal with whatever the threat is that you're facing today. 326 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,960 But there's a heads up I want to give you. 327 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:50,520 Boats don't always end like we hope they will. 328 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:55,760 I can't force this point because the scripture is silent about it. 329 00:24:55,760 --> 00:25:00,480 But I wonder to myself, what about some of those other boats? 330 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:06,840 Did any of them go down in the storm? 331 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:11,120 Possible. 332 00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:15,240 No guarantee they didn't. 333 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:21,640 Storms don't always end like we hope that they will. 334 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:28,800 Parents don't always reconcile and decide to work it out and maintain their commitment 335 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,800 to each other, their vow before God. 336 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:38,040 They don't always do that. 337 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:43,800 People we love get sick and we pray for their healing and they don't always get the healing 338 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:50,160 we pray for. 339 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:56,360 We have goals that are threatened and we don't always make those goals. 340 00:25:56,360 --> 00:26:00,200 Sometimes our lives are radically turned. 341 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:11,640 I remember a couple in the church in Kentucky where I pastored, they had two teenage daughters 342 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:18,120 whom they loved a great deal and as far as they were concerned that was their family. 343 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:25,400 And then both of them in their early 40s, surprise! 344 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:32,480 She has a baby and it's a great shock at first. 345 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:34,760 Some of you can identify with that. 346 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:37,760 I mean, what in the world? 347 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:39,780 The storm hits them. 348 00:26:39,780 --> 00:26:46,600 Here we are, our kids are almost raised now and now we have a baby? 349 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:51,640 And then they adjust to the whole idea. 350 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:57,920 And you know they said, we've always wanted a boy. 351 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:05,560 Maybe this will be the boy that God would bless us with. 352 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:09,060 And so you know they go through the routine of buying all the stuff again that they've 353 00:27:09,060 --> 00:27:10,660 given away. 354 00:27:10,660 --> 00:27:13,180 Some of you have been there too. 355 00:27:13,180 --> 00:27:19,240 They buy all of this stuff, they get the nursery ready in their early 40s now, right? 356 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:27,040 And she comes to the delivery day which happened to be my birthday and she gives birth to a 357 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:29,360 little boy. 358 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:39,600 But in the birth process the cord wrapped around his neck and he died. 359 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:45,400 Storms don't always come out like we wish they would. 360 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,860 That's the way life is. 361 00:27:48,860 --> 00:27:53,640 But I want to tell you something, God has his reasons when that happens. 362 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,760 Now we may not know them this side of eternity. 363 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:58,360 He may hide them from us. 364 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:00,520 There are mysteries that only God knows. 365 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:02,840 He's not revealed them to us. 366 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:09,520 But one thing you can always trust is that he and his omnipotence is able to deal with 367 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:17,360 the storm in the wisest way and the best way. 368 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:25,360 A final lesson, storms provide new glimpses of who Jesus is. 369 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:28,160 The disciples say, who is this? 370 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,260 I mean they have lived with him now for months. 371 00:28:31,260 --> 00:28:33,000 They have seen the miracles. 372 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:39,100 They have made their own conclusions about who Jesus is and who he says he is. 373 00:28:39,100 --> 00:28:43,640 And now they say in the midst of this miracle, who is this? 374 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:49,040 Even the wind and the seas obey him, not just the demons and the diseases. 375 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:53,320 The wind, the seas, they obey him. 376 00:28:53,320 --> 00:29:02,760 There are some things about God that are only learned in the storms of our lives. 377 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:07,480 The disciples' question is a question of astonishment and amazement. 378 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:11,640 They had known Jesus for what they had seen him do and who he said he was, but now in 379 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:19,400 a new way they are comprehending, beginning to comprehend who Jesus is. 380 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:23,320 He's not just like the other people who have healed in the history of Israel. 381 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:28,600 Oh, there were others who healed, the prophets who did miracles. 382 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:30,880 They were very aware of these people. 383 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:37,000 But now, even the wind and the seas, when you look back in their history, there aren't 384 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:41,920 many of their prophets who dealt with the elements of nature. 385 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:48,240 It reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar, who in his great pride looked out upon Babylon and said, 386 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,800 oh, this great city I have built. 387 00:29:51,800 --> 00:30:01,920 And then the storm hit, and he entered into years of insanity because God sent the insanity 388 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:03,760 upon him. 389 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:09,560 And after the storm was over, he said, I now see who God is. 390 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,360 He says God is King of Heaven. 391 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:14,280 Everything he does is right. 392 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:21,680 His ways are just, and he is able to humble the proud. 393 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:26,480 There are some things that you learn about God in the midst of storms. 394 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:30,240 Ask Jonah. 395 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:36,680 Chapter 2 of Jonah is basically a prayer, which he concludes by saying, I now know salvation 396 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:39,560 is of the Lord. 397 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:42,880 What he knew before was that judgment was of the Lord. 398 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:47,680 But he was afraid that God wouldn't judge the Ninevites, and so he ran the other direction. 399 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:53,200 But now he knows for sure salvation is from the Lord, and he needs to go proclaim that 400 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,240 message. 401 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:57,840 Storms provide new glimpses of who Jesus is. 402 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:05,200 What have you learned about Jesus in your storm? 403 00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:10,320 It's reassuring to remember this basic bottom line fact. 404 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:12,080 Storms don't last forever. 405 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:14,200 Aren't you glad about that? 406 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:15,600 Storms don't last forever. 407 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:19,320 Somebody said this too shall pass. 408 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:24,760 Storms like life change. 409 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:26,960 Like the storms that we have in our valley. 410 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:28,280 They come and they go. 411 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:31,920 The storms of our lives are the same way. 412 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:39,040 Storms don't last forever, but what we learn in those storms can last forever. 413 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,840 Storms are never without purpose. 414 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:48,480 The greater problems we have do not come from without, but from within us. 415 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:54,320 Here it was the disciples' failure to grasp and to believe who God was, what he could 416 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:55,320 do. 417 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,240 They created their fear and their unbelief and their doubt. 418 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:02,240 It caused them to question whether Jesus even cared for them. 419 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:05,080 But then they saw he did care. 420 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:07,600 He was able to deal with the storms. 421 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:13,400 It was a lesson that was written on their hearts. 422 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:19,880 Frank Graff was a man who lived from 1860 to 1919. 423 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:24,560 He went through some very difficult storms in his life. 424 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:29,040 The period before writing a particular song was one in which he experienced a great deal 425 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:36,200 of physical pain, which caused doubt in his life and then depression. 426 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:40,320 But then he turned to the word of God and he saw the verse in 1 Peter that I quoted 427 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:41,400 a few moments ago. 428 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:43,760 He cares for you. 429 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:54,280 Sometime around 1901 he wrote the words, Does Jesus care when my heart is grieved? 430 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:59,920 When my heart is pained too deeply for mirth or song? 431 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:06,360 As the burdens press and the cares distress and the way grows weary and long? 432 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:12,360 Does Jesus care when my way is dark with a nameless dread and fear? 433 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:19,240 As the daylight fades into deep nightshades, does he care enough to be near? 434 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:25,920 Does he care when I've said goodbye to the dearest on earth to me? 435 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:30,240 And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks? 436 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,360 Is it aught to him? 437 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,360 Does he see? 438 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:41,600 And then in the chorus he answers, Oh yes, he cares. 439 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:43,400 I know he cares. 440 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,560 His heart is touched with my grief. 441 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:56,040 When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. 442 00:33:56,040 --> 00:34:00,720 With Jesus, my friend, you are secure in the storms. 443 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:04,400 Whatever the outcome, you are secure. 444 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:10,480 But yet he asks, you and me, because of our responses in life's storms, why are you so 445 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,000 afraid? 446 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:16,640 Do you still have no faith? 447 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:22,640 I want to ask you, is Jesus with you in the boat? 448 00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:29,920 I came across a story I want to share with you in closing about a young lady by the name 449 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:31,720 of Hannah Rose. 450 00:34:31,720 --> 00:34:38,200 This is on the website of Titus II Women. 451 00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:44,600 In this story that is too long to read to you, she tells about the time in her teenage 452 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:52,540 years when her family, in order to make ends meet, took in some boarders, some men who 453 00:34:52,540 --> 00:34:59,520 lived in the basement of their house and who taught in the school that she went to. 454 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:10,320 And one of those men seduced her and began sexually abusing her. 455 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:15,860 After a period of time, that ended, but her heart was in great storm. 456 00:35:15,860 --> 00:35:22,120 She was a young lady who was very pure and innocent, and she confesses even naive to 457 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:25,120 get into the situation that she was in. 458 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:31,080 She was overwhelmed by this person who was in a place of authority to her, and she had 459 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:35,880 always been taught that she should obey authority. 460 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:39,540 So she went to a teacher at the high school where she attended. 461 00:35:39,540 --> 00:35:44,280 The teacher told her that everything that she might say would be kept confidential, 462 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:50,280 but three weeks later the teacher, having learned what happened, told her pastor. 463 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:55,600 And so the pastor of her church called the parents and the daughter into his office after 464 00:35:55,600 --> 00:36:01,320 the church service and asked if what he had heard was true, and she said, yes, it was 465 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:03,240 true. 466 00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:12,200 And without any opportunity to explain the details around it, she was then, apparently 467 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:20,480 it was a Christian school and she was removed from the school by the pastor because she 468 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:26,920 had been sexually active. 469 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:30,060 Very unfair. 470 00:36:30,060 --> 00:36:32,480 She carried that injustice around with her. 471 00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:37,160 Her heart was just in a storm, not only by the initial abuse, but by the abuse of the 472 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:40,320 injustice now that had been done to her. 473 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:44,000 But she buried it. 474 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,320 She buried it. 475 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:48,680 And then she got married. 476 00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:50,320 She had two kids of her own. 477 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:56,680 But what she discovered as she got older was that you can't bury things like that, that 478 00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,600 they haunt you until you deal with it. 479 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:06,080 And so she decided to try to find the teacher. 480 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:12,120 Well, first she got some outside help, a counselor who kind of led her through a process. 481 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:16,100 This was as recently as five years ago. 482 00:37:16,100 --> 00:37:19,800 She went through a process with the counselor and then she went to the teacher. 483 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:24,840 And when she told the teacher what had happened, the teacher was absolutely repentant, remembered 484 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:28,760 the occasion, asked for forgiveness, and that helped. 485 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:34,040 The betrayal of the teacher was resolved. 486 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:39,360 When she went to the pastor of her church, he had changed by this time. 487 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:41,800 There was another pastor there. 488 00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:43,840 She related to the new pastor what had happened. 489 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:52,800 The pastor was mortified by what took place and helped her to deal with that bitterness 490 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:58,740 that she had borne for so many years, even against the church and the pastor. 491 00:37:58,740 --> 00:38:04,320 She went to try to find the teacher, who had actually, excuse me, yes, the teacher, the 492 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:10,000 man teacher who had abused her, but he had simply disappeared from the face of the earth. 493 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,400 There was no record of where he had gone. 494 00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:17,160 And someone shared a verse with her that helped her see that God would take care of him, that 495 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:18,960 she had done as much as she could. 496 00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:25,760 And after all of these years, some 20 years, she finally was able to get out of that storm 497 00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:31,200 that was bottled up inside her heart. 498 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:38,080 And she says that she saw finally, Jesus was with me all the way along the journey. 499 00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:43,760 And now she says, I'm released from my bitterness. 500 00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:51,360 The anger, the sense of betrayal, the injustice that I felt is now lifted from my soul. 501 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:54,100 The storm is over. 502 00:38:54,100 --> 00:38:56,960 I don't know what storm you're passing through. 503 00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:03,440 It may be one that occurred this week, or it could have happened 20 years ago. 504 00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:08,200 My friend Jesus is the one who can help you with that storm. 505 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:16,440 He can come into your life and say, peace and be still, and help you to deal with the 506 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:22,920 issues, to process what you've experienced, and settle the waves and quiet the wind, and 507 00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:25,520 bring you to the other side. 508 00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:30,800 And I'm talking to someone here this morning, and you say, that is what I have longed for. 509 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:32,320 I need to get to the other side. 510 00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:34,800 I'm so tired of this storm. 511 00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:41,280 Will you let Jesus help you with it this morning? 512 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:43,600 He does care. 513 00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:46,840 He has not forsaken you. 514 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:50,000 He knows what you're passing through. 515 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:54,400 He's waiting for you to surrender that to him. 516 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:57,720 Will you do it this morning? 517 00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:01,920 Let's pray together. 518 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:07,480 Across this wide auditorium, there are people who right now, who sense the voice of the 519 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:10,720 Holy Spirit inside. 520 00:40:10,720 --> 00:40:13,360 And you've been hurting. 521 00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:15,040 And the storm has whipped you around. 522 00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:16,160 It's affected your life. 523 00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:18,040 It's affected others around you. 524 00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:20,160 You know that. 525 00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:26,920 My friend, today, today is the time to surrender that to Jesus, and let him speak to the storm 526 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:31,440 of your life. 527 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:33,360 Sometimes there are not fairy book endings. 528 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:36,000 I don't mean to mislead you. 529 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:41,880 But I can guarantee you this, that Jesus can quiet the storm that has ravaged your life, 530 00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:46,960 if you will let him do it. 531 00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:50,400 Will you right now give it to him? 532 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:55,920 Father, in the quietness of every heart right now, I pray the Holy Spirit will do that work 533 00:40:55,920 --> 00:41:04,320 that only he can do to bring us to that point of yieldedness and surrender, where we give 534 00:41:04,320 --> 00:41:12,480 the storm to you and let you deal with it. 535 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,100 Thank you for what you're able to do. 536 00:41:15,100 --> 00:41:19,680 Seek right now into those lives that are opening up to you. 537 00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:26,680 I pray for the right process, for the right counselor, the right one to come alongside 538 00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:28,880 each one who is deeply troubled. 539 00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:36,760 Oh Lord, that there may be peace, that there may be calm, that there may be wholeness and 540 00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:44,560 safety in that life. 541 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:49,080 In Jesus' name I pray, amen. 542 00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:52,560 You know we have a group of lay counselors in our church who are able to help you with 543 00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:56,080 issues like we've talked about this morning. 544 00:41:56,080 --> 00:41:59,720 And I want to encourage you to contact the director of our counseling ministry, Jean 545 00:41:59,720 --> 00:42:00,720 Galika. 546 00:42:00,720 --> 00:42:05,560 Her information is available to you on our website or you can call the church office 547 00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:06,960 and we can connect you. 548 00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:12,680 And let someone to help you think through the process, if that's what's required, in 549 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:15,640 order for your storm to be dealt with. 550 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:18,960 One of our pastors, one of our elders can help you. 551 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:21,800 Perhaps a spiritually mature friend. 552 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:25,680 But don't let the storm ravage you anymore. 553 00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:29,340 Let Jesus speak to it. 554 00:42:29,340 --> 00:42:34,460 And then you can sing, as we're all going to sing now, it is well with my soul. 555 00:42:34,460 --> 00:42:39,280 This is a song of course that was written after a storm when there was great loss. 556 00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:42,480 Let it be well with your soul this morning. 557 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:46,240 By Jesus speaking to your storm. 558 00:42:46,240 --> 00:43:13,240 Let us stand together as we sing.