The Winds And The Sea Obey Jesus - [Matthew 8:23-27]

privilege and honor to be here with you this morning we really appreciate it we had a chance to meet

Mark and his family and Jonathan and his family last night and it was great to find some other people who are not counting the days or the time by years and days but by how many children ago this happened you know like a normal person like oh five years ago and seven years ago and and then you meet a large family it's like yeah that's when we had three kids that's when we had six kids that's when we had a 15 kids so so we felt like at home we have a large family by God's grace we were able to say with with pastor

Steve and you have really nice people in your church we thought that pastor Mike is the only one and and we were proven wrong it's it's great to be here great to be loved by you and we really appreciate the opportunity to be here with you so the passage that I have for you today is

Matthew chapter 8 verses 23 through 27 back in our church and of course we are going through the gospel of Matthew and pastor

Mike asked me to have a sermon that is Christ centered and and and I think this passage will do just that by God's grace it's going to be

Christ centered sermon that's going to benefit you hopefully and and the title of this message is why are you afraid and and that's the reason why

I chose actually this message is because it's a message for me this morning to be in pastor

Mike's church be preaching in front of him after after he taught me how to pray

I was greatly afraid and I was thinking about I need to have a Christ centered message and something that's going to help me not to be afraid as he's going to be sitting in a front row so there you go so this sermon is going to benefit at least one of us it's it's me sorry about it but I hope it's going to be helpful to you as well so I'll read a passage

I'll pray and well we'll get to work Matthew chapter 8 verses 23 through 27 this is the word of the

Lord when he meaning Jesus got into the boat his disciples followed him and behold there arose a great storm on the sea so that the boat was being covered with the waves but Jesus himself was asleep and they came to him and woke him saying save us

Lord we are perishing he said to them why are you afraid you man of little faith then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and it became perfectly calm the man were amazed and said what kind of a man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him

God we are so thankful to be here this morning gathered in one place as your church we thank you so much for your word and God I pray that you would use me as a sinner who was forgiven by Christ to preach your words to help these people to encourage them strengthen them and and God we pray that you would just help us to see how great

Christ is your son eternal eternal son our Savior God we thank you that we are in your hands we thank you that we are in Christ's hands thank you for your word thank you for your spirit and we just pray that you would bless us as we go through this passage right now amen amen so let me get straight to the bottom line of the bottom line because I was given 40 minutes and I have four points and I'll try to deal with that just just like that the truth is that each of you that are sitting here this morning is either going or was going or will be going through some kind of a storm in your life right that's just the fact that's just the bottom line we are humans and even though we are

Christians we are going to be facing some hard times it might be at your job it might be in your family it might be because of your health but your health but there are going to be some storms in your life and uh you know with every storm you as a

Christian you have a decision to make and you can either in each storm trust yourself and and and be anxious or by God's grace you can trust

Christ your good shepherd and find peace in his arms even in the midst of the of the darkest storms and my hope and prayer is this morning that the portion that we just read together a little while ago of God's Holy Word will help you trust

Christ no matter what no matter what a storm is in your life or will be in your life that you will remember this passage that you will remember

Christ the King calming the storm on a Galilean Sea and it is going to encourage you and strengthen you as it did strengthen me when we were going through our storms and strengthen our church as our church was going through different storms so as we come to our passage it will be helpful for you to know that Matthew's goal is to present

Jesus in this gospel as God's divine Messiah and King who will deliver

God's people from their sins and bring them to God's everlasting kingdom and the way how

Christ does it obviously is by his perfect life it's by his substitutionary death on a

Roman cross and it's through his resurrection on a Sunday morning and when you would be with us and of course we would be going chapter by chapter verse by verse through Matthew's gospel and in chapter 8 and 9

Matthew selects nine miracles of Jesus to prove that he is really the divine

Messianic King of Kings who has the power over sickness who has the power over demons and sin and death right like that's the picture of Matthew's painting is here is your

King he has come he is the divine he is God's son he is the eternal God and he is the

King of Kings and he rules and he rules over sin he rules over sickness he rules over demons and he rules over death and he has power to overturn sin, curse and establish a new heavenly kingdom and in our text today we see one of these nine miracles that Matthew presents and the neat thing about this miracle is that it very closely connects at least with me and with my life and I'm really hoping and praying that it will connect also with you and with your life because it doesn't only provide

God's testimony of the fact that Jesus eternal second member of God's trinity is the creator of the world who has power over his creation but it also will encourage you to trust

Christ to trust Jesus in the darkest moments of your life no no matter what they are by reminding you that he is a mighty king who rules.

The context of our passage is that you know the day that we found ourselves in a chapter is it's a

Saturday evening and Jesus just had a super busy day in a town or village called

Capernaum and if you would read Matthew's chapter chapter 8 and 7 you would see that Jesus just healed the leper which was very kind very loving thing to do

Jesus Jesus touched him and healed him and and loved him in a moment where everybody else was running away from him

Jesus also healed that day a centurion's servant you might remember that he even healed that day

Peter's mother -in -law and and also a countless crowd of sick people and and that is a huge testimony about Christ and and his love for his creation and his love for the people that he came to save and and how much he cares for them and how much he cares for for us who are his and when he healed them all he told and he commanded his disciples to get into the boat and a sail on the other side of the sea of the of the lake that that was in front of them and in verse 23 we read that when he got into the boat the disciples followed him right and then when

Matthew says that he he's not only thinking about a 12 disciples the 12 apostles but he's also thinking about other people that are following Jesus Jesus always had a crowd of people with him right there was always somebody learning from him there was always somebody following him and and when we read that when

Jesus got into the boat his disciples followed him it means the 12 but it means a lot more people because Mark 4 36 tells us that there are other boats with him so there is

Jesus on his boat with a bit of 12 disciples and maybe some other guys there are other boats with other men and maybe other women and they are headed across the sea so it's

Saturday evening boats departed from the shore and they are now crossing the massive body of water which is before them and the first thing that I would like you to notice in our passage today is that the storm is raging that's the first thing that's the first point of our of our outline and we see in the verse 24 that Matthew says and behold there arose a great storm on the sea so that the boat was being covered with waves and a sea in this in this context does the sea that Matthew is describing here is obviously the sea of Galilee also known as Lake of Gennesaret I never been to Israel but maybe you saw the pictures you know it's a beautiful body of water really nice and in daylight a lot of people fishing on the lake which is which is really like a sea because even though it's a size of a lake because of the weather conditions it's more like a sea so if you are in the middle of it and there is a storm you have a huge problem

Matthew says and behold there arose a great storm and the word behold shows us that the storm came suddenly that it was totally unexpected and that's that's exactly what's happening on this body of water day by day year by year even until this day that's that's how the weather works in this part of the world that that you just never know when the storm is gonna hit you right like today you have the benefit of hey you're gonna go on a boat ride then you take your phone and you check the weather okay next six hours no rain okay let's go but in this lake even if you would have a weather app it's not gonna work that way because nobody can predict what a wind and what a heat is gonna do so behold all of a sudden it shocked even the experienced fishermen who were with Jesus that there is this storm no warning no signal one minute everything is smooth one minute everything is cool one minute everything's nice you have a your little chit -chat with your buddies on a boat and all of a sudden behold there is a great storm and the great in Greek is

Megas you know it's really a mega storm it's a it's a raging storm it's a it's a terrible storm and Matthew is using these words to show us how desperate the situation of the disciples is gonna be because of how great how mega how terrifying how shocking this storm is gonna be so these waves were so big that a boat was being covered with the waves one moment you see the boat the next moment you don't right like sometimes you see it in the on a

YouTube or in a TV like that is there's a boat on the ocean and the boat the waves are as big as this building so like you see the boat you don't see the boat you see the boat you don't see the boat just because the the waves are massive and Mark 437 adds and he says the waves were breaking over to the boat so much that the boat was already filling up so you just put yourself into the shoes of the disciples right like you're in the middle of the sea you're in the middle of the night you're in the middle of the storm that is that is scaring the daylights

I think you say you know out of you and you are terrified and the storm is raging and it's a not it's not a good thing in the middle to be in the middle to be in the middle of the sea today when there is a storm and you know with the boats however two thousand years ago it was even worse back then because you didn't have all the high -tech and cell phones and and somebody to call for reinforcements you know and it's a good reminder for us a bit life you know that's how it is usually in our lives right like like when sickness hits you when something hits you in a work or at your family it's not like somebody from your family calling you like hey in three weeks it's gonna get really bad because I'm really upset at you okay just that you know when you come for Thanksgiving it's gonna be really bad you know and then two weeks later hey just hope that you didn't forget what

I said last week it's coming you know and and then you know one week closer like like you just show up at a

Thanksgiving dinner you just show up at a work you show up at a church you show up somewhere at a vacation and all of a sudden in the middle of the night your your kids are throwing up or or or there's a bad announcement coming from your family and and and it hits you and caught you off guard and that's that's the same thing that's that's what happened in here that you know it was a calm night they were hoping for an easy and restful ride but all of a sudden totally unexpected this this huge fiercy mega storm does the stars as one author said it were replaced by lightnings and thunders the calm breeze is exchanged with screaming wind and deafening rain their boat is filling up with water fast and they're starting to sink and then you just thinking about what a storm is causing in their hearts it's it's fear and it's anxiety and it's it's terror and that's the same thing in our lives right like we might we doesn't have to be in the middle of the sea to to be all anxious to be all terrorized or or full of fear and the here's the thing everybody was everybody was in a panic fighting for their lives in this raging storm except of Jesus and as the second thing that I want you to notice in our passages that while the storm is raging

Jesus is sleeping and I love that we read in a verse verse 24 by Jesus himself was asleep and and it should shock us because the storm was big and the boat was almost sinking and and and and and what we see here when when

Matthew tells us that Jesus was sleeping is we see a glimpse of Jesus humanity right like he's a truly

God but he's a truly man and right here right before we'll see the glimpse of his divinity

Matthew shows us glimpse of his humanity as a true man

Jesus is sleeping as a true God Jesus will subdue and calm the storm and the question is how come

Jesus is sleeping and partially the answer is well because he had a hard day right like he just spent a whole day with people he just spent a whole day teaching people about God's kingdom he just spent a whole day preaching to people about about a gospel about repentance from sins and and and and that he is the way and that he is the truth and that he is the life and that no one comes to the

Father except through him and not only he was teaching a whole day but he was healing people whole day and that took energy from him so he was tired and he slept when the dark clouds covered the starry sky he slept when the deafening wind and lightning stroke and he slept when the rain started pouring down and he slept when the waves were destroying their boat and when everybody else was panicking and fearing for their life

Jesus in his humanity was sleeping and for sure part of the reason why he is sleeping is because he was exhausted after a hard day but I think there is also a second reason why he is sleeping peacefully and I think the second part of the reason why he is sleeping peacefully is because he knew scriptures in his humanity he had to learn scriptures just like you and I have to learn scriptures right like like when he was 12 they found him in the temple and and his his father and his mother were teaching him the scriptures and he was going to synagogue and he was learning just as we are learning because he is a truly man so he knew scriptures and he also knew that God the

Father has everything firmly in his hands which is something that he knew because he's

God but he also knew it because he's a man who learned it from the scriptures and because he knew that God has everything in his hands and because he as a perfect man perfectly trusts

God he is peacefully sleeping in the midst of the storm because he knows that there is only one who's in control and that's

God the Father Jesus knew his Psalm 115 verse 3 but our God is in the heaven he does whatever he pleases he knew that and he knew it's truth and he he bet his life on it he he depended his life on it so he is able to sleep in the in the in the in the great storm

Jesus knew that he will not die a minute too early or too late right Matthew 10 29 says that Jesus says are not two sparrows sold for a cent and yet no not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father like like Jesus knows that you know that the day when you are born and the day when you die are not in your hands are in God's hands and that it's it's

God who said the time when you will be born and God is the one who says the time when you will die so I can rest peacefully in the middle of the storm because I'm not going to die if it's not

God's plan for me to die and if it's God's plan for me to die I'm gonna die even if I would be in a submarine right like or even if I would be on the shore thinking like oh

I'm so glad I'm not on the boat with them and there's a lightning coming because you know there's a time that God said for you to die and and you just cannot escape it so so Christ this trust in God and and he trusts the scriptures and he knew that he did not come to die on a boat as a powerless sailor but he came to die on a cross as a powerful

Savior so so he's he said he's he's he's resting on a boat because it's not his time to die he knew

Psalm 22 that prophesied about him that he will be delivered to Gentiles who will pierce his hands and feet he knew

Deuteronomy 21 that is a prophecy about him that he will be crucified so therefore he knows he cannot die on that boat in the middle of this storm because God has a different plan for him how could he not be sleeping right like people might be thinking like how can you be sleeping and it's like how could

I not be sleeping like I know I'm in God's hands I know what my purpose is I know how I'm gonna die and I'm fully trust in God who has all things in his hands and he is sleeping and he is resting because this storm is not an accident but is a part of God's plan and I want you to know this morning if you are a

Christian I want to encourage you that there are no accidents in God's universe right it was

R .C. Sproul who said that there are no maverick molecules in this universe like God is sovereign over every single molecule and atom which also mean that there are no maverick or loose accidents in God's universe

Psalm 93 says what like how does Psalm 93 begins the Lord reigns you know and it's it's it's so encouraging to know that it is our

Lord it is Christ the Son it is God the Father is the Holy Spirit is it's God the true

God who rules and who reigns the Lord reigns and what it means in Psalm 93 is that he he always reigns he he reigns everywhere he he reigns over all and the good thing is that it's not a storm it's not a storms that are reigning in your life it's not

Satan or bad people you know they do not reign in your life it's it's not fortune or luck that will be reigning in your life there is only one who reigns in the universe over every single storm over every single trial over every single sickness and that's

God himself and that's a good news for us and that was a good news for the disciples and was good news for Christ there's only one who reigns and that is true

God of the Bible so there are no loose maverick storms in your lives that would not be under God's control that God would not preordained in order to build you to be more like Jesus for his own glory and for your good and that is why

Paul can declare with such a confidence and in Romans 8 28 we know not we think not perhaps or maybe but we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love love

God right and and and the way how all things work together for good to those who love God is that they are shaping us to be more like Christ they're shaping us to love

Christ more to depend on him more so Jesus is sleeping because he knows that this storm is not happening in order to kill them but so he can be worshiped by them by his disciples and I want you to know that if you are going or will be going through a hardship in your life you need to know that hardships and trials and storms are not meaningless and in the hands of Almighty God in the hands of loving

God in the hands of all -powerful God storms and trials and hard times and sicknesses even death none of this is meaningless because the meaning we just read about it in Romans 8 28

God is using all these things to bring us closer to him to love him more to be more like Christ his son and Jesus knew that they must go through this storm so his disciples can see a glimpse of his glory of his divinity

I don't know if you ever thought about it but I had this thought and I probably read it somewhere or heard it somewhere you know have you ever thought about how it would be if Jesus would just stayed with the disciples on a shore like like Jesus could tell his disciples hey guys

I'm God and I know what's gonna happen tonight if you get on a boat right now they're gonna sail into the middle of the of the sea and there's gonna be a huge storm it's gonna be such a great storm that like you never seen before you will all be scared for your lives this boat is gonna almost sink you will be panicking and freaking out even though you are you are fishermen and you know this sea better than anybody else and I just want to prevent that from you because I love you so much and and I want you to know that you know if you would go on the sea and we would be caught up in the middle of this storm

I would stand up in the boat and I would say one word and the whole storm would just end and then you guys would fall on your knees and worship me but we are not gonna do that because I love you

I don't want you to go through that thing so why don't you just worship me here on the shore and we take it easy from here like you like you you think

Peter would be like yes right like everybody would be like I you know

I don't know about a Jesus right like because because there is this need for them to go through the storm so Jesus divinity can be revealed to them in a very special way that's that they would experience that and and that's that's that's that's why

Jesus is taking them through the storm one one of the reason you know they had to go through the storm in order for Jesus to be glorified because nobody would glorify him on the shore if you just tell them this story and for them to see who

Jesus really is they need to go through this storm and for you and for for all of us as Christians you know it's it's it's beneficial that they went through this storm because now we can read about it we can read about what they experienced we can read about their fear we can we can relate to them we can see like yes they they react to the storms in their lives the same way how we relate and and this is what

Jesus did in the middle of the storm and and there's something we can learn about Jesus and apply it to our lives when we are going to go in our trials to our trials realizing that they are underneath his sovereign care so so they went through their trials so Jesus can be glorified so we can learn from it and and you know that that that often that is also another reason why

God allows you to go through your storms because he will use your storms and and the way how he leads you through them and and the way how he strengthens you through them as a testimony to other people isn't it so right then and when you were in your storms you you probably reached out to people who were through similar stores before you right like like you guys had a hard marriage we are going through a hard time like how did

Jesus helped you how did Jesus led you through it like oh okay like you repented and you forgave one another and and he restored your marriage and and and now now you're your hard times are helping somebody else to go through their hard times right or hey you dealt with a dying wife you you dealt with a dying husband right because they they had this sickness or that sickness like how did

Jesus helped you how how did God help you how did he led you through it and and all of a sudden this hard time that you went through a year ago or ten years ago is being transformed into something that's being helpful to somebody else and it's helping somebody else to grow in their relationship to Christ so you know the same is true about storms in your life you can be in peace in the in the middle of who knows what you are going through you can you can sleep in the midst of the horrible things that are happening around us not because you are naive and not because you are uninformed but because you know that is the

Lord who reigns and you know that Christ is in charge you don't have to worry you don't have to panic you don't have to be afraid you just have to make a decision by God's grace and by his strength to trust

Christ to trust God instead of trusting yourself and as the decision that we are always constantly are making am

I gonna glorify myself or am I gonna gonna glorify God will I be trusting myself and my abilities and my knowledge or will

I be trusting the promises I have in the Bible we as a

Christians have the privilege to rejoice in the storms first Peter 1 verse 6 and 7 in this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while if necessary you have been distressed by various trials so that the proof of your faith being more precious than gold which is perishable even though tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor and the revelation of Jesus Christ so God is using meaningfully the hard times in your life to bring you closer to Christ to be more like Christ and to purify your faith so Christ can receive all the possible glory when he returns that's what's happening storms are not out of or above of God's control but under God's control and that is a fact and God wants you to remember that and if you're going through them you don't have to be ashamed or feel like a second -grade

Christian right like sometimes in some churches they teach like well you know if you are sick or if you're going through this or if you're going through that that means that you have unconfessed sin or it means that you did this wrong and you did that wrong and you need to confess and confess and confess and yes yes sometimes that might be true but not always not always you know sometimes we are sick and and it's not because we sinned just because we are in a sinful world and God is going to use it for his glory

Romans 5 3 through 4 says and not only this but we also exult in our tribulations know it that tribulation brings about perseverance and perseverance proven character and proven character hope so Jesus who trusted

God the father was sleeping by disciples who were trusting in themselves were screaming and that's the third point that's the third thing that we see in our passage today disciples are screaming verse 25 they came to him and woke him saying save us

Lord we are perishing and these guys are experienced sea dogs right like this was their this was their occupation like they knew the sea they knew the boats they knew the storms and this was not a first storm that they encountered here but it's one was exceptional that and it was so exceptional that even these fishermen are begging a carpenter for help you know it's like you're in the middle of the sea on your own boat you are the captain of the boat you are a fisherman and you are going to ask a carpenter for help the storm was big the storm has to be really really great if this is happening you know and they are coming to him and they are saying save us

Lord we are perishing and and Mark 438 says that they said teacher do you not care that we are perishing right like they are not coming with a humble attitude they are coming like raging at Jesus like like Jesus what are you doing you're supposed to be helping us and saving us and and you do not care about us like great like you told us to get on the boat you do you wanted us to sail across the sea and now you do not care and they are confused and sometimes we are confused in our in our lives in the middle of the storms right like we believe

Christ we trust Christ we know who Christ is and and they and they somehow at least partially knew who

Christ is but their small faith was mixed with a great mistrust because they turned their eyes away from Christ and they and they started started looking too much at themselves and I think it was

Mark yesterday night or maybe Jonathan and then they reminded me of the other time when the disciples were with Jesus on the same lake right and and Peter asked

Jesus to step out of the boat to walk to Jesus in the middle of the storm and as far as Peter was able to see

Jesus and keep his eyes on Jesus and trust Jesus he was so safe he was so good right but in the moment when he took away his eyes from Christ and started looking around at himself he started thinking and that's what they are doing they are panicking they are freaking out that they are scared they think that Jesus doesn't care it's very unpolite it's very rough it's very rude and they're basically saying don't you care save us do something as Lewis Johnson said that these disciples did not learn yet that it is far better and safer to be with Jesus in the biggest storm than without Jesus on a shore and that's true right it's so much safer with Jesus in the middle of the storm on a boat than without him on a shore and they are started they started doubting

Jesus they started thinking that he doesn't care but here's the question how could the

Savior who came to redeem them from the storm of their sins with his own blood not care about their earthly storms like Jesus cared so much that he left his heaven and his angels and all the glory he had there he cared about him so much that he added humanity to his divinity that the one who created time the one who created space the one who is eternal and wasn't limited by time and space put on flesh and the one who gives life was was born on this on this earth and and the one who rules everything was now dependent on his mother and on his father and on his heavenly father how could he not care about him how could a good shepherd who came to seek and save the lost not care about his sheep once he found them and I want you to know brothers and sisters that storms in your life do not mean that Jesus doesn't care and then you know what in my life and probably in your life like sometimes that's that's the temptation right like we are in the hard times

God doesn't care well he does care and we need to realize that storms are not a sign that doesn't care that God doesn't care but they are rather a tool in his hand to rightly remind us how weak we are and how much we need him and it is it is when we are the weakest it is in the darkest storms when

God's power is most visible isn't it so you remember Apostle Paul you remember the problem he had he had some kind of a thorn in his in his flesh right like we do not know if it was a sickness we do not know if it was a some guy in a check trying to kill him with a hazelnuts we do not know what it was but we know it was a thorn in his flesh and we know he was asking

God three times to remove it from his life and in 2nd

Corinthians 12 9 we see God's response and here is God's response to Paul's trials my grace is sufficient for you for power is perfected in weakness and Paul says most gladly therefore

I will rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me and Paul is rejoicing in his weaknesses he's rejoicing in the hard situations he's in because he knows that whatever good comes out of it will be for the glory of God not for his own glory that that everybody will be able to look at Paul and say you know what what

Paul is doing and where Paul is that's only possible because Christ is in his life and because Christ is working in his life and we know that the power is not in the vessel in the earthly vessel that's that's just that's just a clay and has many cracks but the power is in the treasure that's in this vessel and that's

God himself so Paul is rejoicing in his weaknesses and that's what the disciples should have done on the boat be rejoicing yes this is going to be a great opportunity for Jesus to shine not for us to shine not for us to save ourselves but for Christ and we just cannot wait how he's gonna solve this but they got off the focus they they they got a wrong focus so they are crying and weeping and being scared and being terrified and the storm on the

Sea of Galilee was terrifying but was good because it brought even these disciples to the end of themselves after they tried everything they come into Jesus right like after everything fails we'll pray right instead of like no we pray all the time we pray first no after we tried everything after we called all our friends after we tried all the banks after we tried all the hospitals okay there's nothing else to do let's just pray while we were should have been praying the whole time and this storm brought them to Jesus and brought them to the only one who can save them and the disciples were wrong when they thought that Jesus doesn't care and that's why

Jesus is rebuking them in verse 26 he says why are you afraid you man of little faith there's a rebuke to them you should have trusted me did you not see my power over sickness where we just like over in Capernaum didn't

I just like heal so many people during the whole day didn't you see me raising people from death didn't you see me turning water into wine showing you that I have the power over reaction over the creation didn't you see me casting out demons like like how could you think that you are going to die where is your faith you have seen all these things you seen my love you see my compassion you saw that I saved your mother -in -law you seen that I touched the leopard and not no one else wanted to touch how could you think that I do not care so he rebukes them and the passage in front of our eyes this morning brings a question a similar question for every one of you and the question is how are you dealing with storms in your life is it sometimes more like pagans who believe in luck or are you are you dealing with them to God's glory like Christians who have sovereign

God right like you look at people around you that do not know God and do not know that there is sovereign

God and they believe in luck they believe in fortune they believe in flipping flipping a coin or who knows what and yes like understandably they are scared when they have a cancer understandably they are scared when they lose their job understandably they are scared when this and that happens in their life because because they have a totally wrong worldview they don't understand that God has everything in his hands but it's one thing for unbeliever to act like an unbeliever and another thing for me or you to act like an unbeliever when we know

Christ and when we know that he is with us that he never leaves us and that all all power all authority in heaven and on earth is given to him and that he rules our lives why why are you afraid why are you afraid isn't

God faithful hasn't wasn't he faithful in your life already you know like we have the testimony of the scriptures that shows us how how faithful God is but by his grace each of you if you are a born -again

Christian you can give thousands of testimonies of God's faithfulness in your life right and they should all help you to face the next storm with with more courage and with more faith in Christ because you know what he has done already in your life did not

God promise in Hebrews 13 verse 5 and 6 I will never desert you nor will

I ever forsake you so that we can confidently say the Lord is my helper I will not be afraid what will men do to me like even in the midst of persecution right like I had this dear brother from Ukraine coming to me this morning he said hey my grandfather was persecuted and was in a was was in a prison in Ukraine and because he was a

Christian but he didn't have to be afraid why because he has God who rules every man who rules every prison who rules every every secret police officer what will men do to me we have nothing to be afraid of so the good news is that Jesus did not only rebuke his disciples but he also saved them and that's the verse

I mean that's the verse 26 there's a fourth and last point and we are gonna wrap up here shortly Jesus is saving we saw the storm raging we saw disciples screaming we saw

Jesus sleeping and we also see now Jesus and him saving then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and he showed them that he really cares he rebuked the winds and the sea he commended them and Mark 4 39 tells us that he got up and rebuked the wind and the sea hush be still that's what he said one word and the wind died down and it became perfectly calm

Jesus just said one word he just said one sentence and everything was over that the the storm was gone and and the big waves that were there a second ago where we're gone and the whole sea was as calm as a mirror it's another miracle right like sometimes we go to the lighthouses right after the storm and even the storm is gone even though the sky is clean and the sun is shining and and the sky is blue the ocean is what still raging right because like the the physics and whatever else is happening there but Jesus made this miracle by calming the sea instantly that the effects and everything one sentence and the storm was gone the mega storm turned into a mega calm the storm we see became like a mirror immediately and that's how easy it is for Christ who's the creator

God that's how fast Jesus can do things you know if he pleases what else would you expect when

Jesus speaks right like like he spoke this universe this universe to being some 6 ,000 years ago with the power of his word he he he separated the waters with one word he he set the limits for oceans with one word and now he commanded this storm to be still and all of a sudden the sea was still there is a power that only

God has Jesus did not pray to God to calm the storm Jesus is

God who calmed the storm and this miracle is recorded for us to remind us that he is not only truly man but also truly

God God who cares God who came among his people lived in his people live the life the perfect life that none of the people lived in order to fulfill

God's law so he can also die on a cross in their place for their sins and be risen on a third day for their righteousness and for their salvation how good is to know that Jesus is faithful even when we are doubting if he cares how good is to know that he is powerful when we are weak how good is to know that he is mighty when we are helpless and how good is to know that he helps and saves even when we are totally miserable so that's my encouragement for you this morning

Christ rules Christ is the king who reigns

Christ is God and he loves you and he cares for you and and and you know calming the storm is a sign of his divinity is a sign of his of his kingly credentials that he rules over his creation but it also brings comfort to our hearts knowing that Christ can calm any storm any minute of our lives and here's the deal do you believe that Christ is

Almighty God do you believe that he is all -knowing God therefore that he knows about the storms in your lives and that he can settle them once for all if he pleases

I hope you do believe that so why is he not doing it right now while you are still in the middle of the storm it's not because he's powerless right and it's not because he doesn't know because he is all -knowing so there must be another reason why you are still in the storm or why you will be going through the storm even though he can prevent it or he can stop it and the reason is for him to be glorified and for you to be sanctified and to be more like him and if you are unbeliever if you are a friend or guest in this church today if you do not know

Christ as a personal Savior here's one thing that you need to know you need to know that there is there is a lot greater storm headed your way you know be in the middle of the sea in the boat that is sinking is one thing but if you're unbeliever and if you are not reconciled with the

Holy God through Christ alone by grace alone then there is a storm of God's judgment come in your way and this is not trying to threaten you with hell

God's judgment is a fact Christ spoke about hell

Christ spoke about God's judgment and Christ also told us that he is the only one who can reconcile us with a father that's why he came that's why he died that's why he rose again so we can escape the judgment of God at the end times and you need to know that there's only one way there's only one door there is only there is only one way of salvation and that is in Jesus Christ and you don't have to give money to the church you don't have to do some religious things you just need to bow your knee in front of God ask for forgiveness for your sins if God is working in your life and showing you that he is a holy

God who created you and that you are a great sinner that sinned against him and that Christ is the only way what you need to do is humble yourself by God's grace ask him by God's grace for forgiveness and trust in Christ and Christ alone

God we thank you so much for the time we were able to spend in your words and God we pray that right now with your spirit you will do the things that you can only do

God we as preachers we can bring your words to people's ears but you're the only one who can who can impact and regenerate and encourage the heart so God I pray that you will do just that with your

Holy Spirit right now I pray for blessings for this church I pray God if there are some people who are unsafe to this morning that you would show them that you are

God and that there is only one way through Christ that you would be merciful to them and God I pray for the believers in this church that you would give them unity that they would love you that they would follow you that they would evangelize other people that I would disciple the ones that that know you and God whatever in your sovereign plan you have for this church and for those people individually whatever storm whatever hardships please remind them that it's all good it's all in your hands that it all has a meaning to to glorify you to bring them closer to you to make them more like Christ God please help us in the middle of the storm don't forget about things that we have seen so clearly on a bright day that you are in control that you are the