Transcript
Speaker: If you've ever been caught up in a change of weather and it happens just like that, you can start where the day is fine in the morning, blue skies, Then the wind begins to pick up and it starts getting a little bit darker outside. The temperature drops and you know before long you start hearing thunder in the distance and and you know that storm is just it's just heading your way.
Speaker: Probably one of the best inventions of all time other than the smartphone is the radar app that's on your phone, right? How quickly do we go to that now? Anytime we start hearing something, we go immediately to the radar.
Speaker: Because I don't know about you, but there is something Interesting watching it kind of come across the screen, you know that the the red and green areas, and then sometimes it'll be purple. That's the really bad areas.
Speaker: It's a little unsettling to me to see the purple line kind of coming towards Cameron sometimes. You're like, Lord, I know we need rain, but but maybe not that that much. I thought this week as as I prepared and I read this lesson, what about those storms in life that we don't see on the radar?
Speaker: that doctor's appointment that you go to that routine checkup that you go to, that suddenly there's some extra tests that need to be had. Or that phone call that you get in the middle of the week and and it's it's it's a conversation that changes the entire direction of your week.
Speaker: Or that relationship that you thought was so secure slowly begins to unravel. Or something that happens to one of your grandchildren or your great-grandchildren, you realize, well, I really have little control over this situation. I really don't know how to fix it.
Speaker: How about those storms that aren't even happening around you, but they're happening inside of you? You know, that burning, that churning, that brewing that happens while you're sitting in bed at night. 2 a.m., 3 a.m., m you can't get to sleep.
Speaker: You can't stop thinking about that problem. There's no way to resolve it, and you be start feeling anxious.
Speaker: Friends, what do when life's storms hit
Speaker: and they're bigger or larger than we could have ever expected? This is we're going to look at today in John chapter 6, this last few verses of 15 to 21. It answers this question of what happens in life's storms with an unforgettable night on the Sea of Galilee.
Speaker: Probably my one of my top five biblical stories to teach and to preach out of. I love i just love this account. We'll see this morning the disciples find themselves in the darkness in a boat and they're fighting against the waves and the wind.
Speaker: And it's in this moment, it's in this storm of life that Jesus shows up and he teaches two important things to his disciples.
Speaker: We're see what those two things are today. I'm not going to give them to you right off the bat because then I just know you'll check out for the rest of the 40 minutes. But there are two things that every Christian will eventually face and will have to answer for themselves. These two questions, these two important things, we're going to cover pretty thoroughly. And then we're to see how those two things apply to our lives today.
Speaker: let's Let's begin today in chapter 6. If you have your Bible, go ahead and open it up with me. We're to start in verse 15. 15 begins...
Speaker: begins This way, when Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be king, he slipped away into the hills by himself. you'll You'll remember what just happened. We just talked about this last week.
Speaker: If you were here, Jesus had just fed the 5,000, 10,000 to 15,000, depending upon your count, with just five barley loaves and two fish. You'll remember that miracle, right? The the crowd saw that power.
Speaker: and they immediately decide here's what they want to do with him. They want to make him king. And at first that probably sounds like a positive thing until you realize what they actually want is not Jesus on his terms, but they want Jesus on on their terms.
Speaker: They found somebody who can produce food miraculously, and they're thinking to ourselves, this is the exact kind of guy we want to be our king. He's got power. But they want to determine how that power is going to be used.
Speaker: But Jesus refuses and he withdraws, verse 15 tells us, ah into the hills or into the mountain alone. All throughout scripture, by the way, we see this. When people try to control Jesus, they try to box him in, he he escapes.
Speaker: They want to put Jesus in a box and he won't be boxed in. Sometimes I put here we can find ourselves doing this exact same thing. Now, you and I may never say it out loud, but sometimes we have a picture in our minds of who Jesus is and what he should do and how he ought to be and how he ought to act.
Speaker: How do I know this? Because I've prayed this exact same prayer. Listen if if you've prayed a prayer like this. Lord, if you really care about me, then this is how this situation should turn out.
Speaker: if you are really listening to my prayers,
Speaker: then you'll make that person better. Or you'll restore this broken relationship. Or this problem should disappear. Or this door should open. Or that door should close.
Speaker: You ever prayed a prayer like that?
Speaker: Just put a note to myself this week as a reminder. Jesus is not our servant. We are his. He is our king. We are his subjects.
Speaker: He is the creator. We are the created. Faith is not convincing Jesus to follow our plans. it is trusting Jesus when his plan is different than than your plan and my plan.
Speaker: So Jesus... escapes verse 15 says he he slips away into the hills by himself now John shifts the scene into this storm look with me verse 16 says now that evening Jesus disciples went down to the shore to wait for him but as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn't come back they got into the boat and headed across the lake to Capernaum think think about just these words for a second as darkness fell
Speaker: And Jesus still hadn't come back.
Speaker: See, the author is setting up the scene for us here. He's setting us up with this idea that darkness is right around the corner. The storm is just getting ready to happen. But the one person they were expecting to be there, Jesus, he he's he's not there.
Speaker: Now some of you here today know exactly what this feels like. Even if you've believed in Jesus at some point in your life. Even if you've walked with him for many years. You know those promises in scripture.
Speaker: But there are certain seasons in life that you go through where you can't see what Jesus is doing. You pray, but you don't see any change. You wait, but the answer doesn't seem to come.
Speaker: You look around and Jesus seems to be absent. What do we do in that scenario? Well, verse 18 builds this story. Look on with me, verse 18. It says, soon a gale swept down upon them and the sea grew very rough.
Speaker: Now, it's helpful to understand a little biblical geography. If you have a Bible atlas, maybe in the back of your Bible, some of your Bibles have this. Topography or geography of the Sea of Galilee is real helpful here because the Sea of Galilee is about...
Speaker: 200 to 280 feet below sea level, but it's in a valley where the sides of the mountains are all around it are really high. And what happens is the winds will start rushing through here and it just builds like a ah funnel.
Speaker: And this funneled air rushes along the Sea of Galilee and and it really churns up the waves. And it and it happens, even to this day, in an instant.
Speaker: It can go from being pretty calm to really rough to almost terrifying in a matter of moments. And the passage tells us here that the disciples are getting ready to be caught up in this. Darkness, wind, rough water, and friends, Jesus is nowhere in sight.
Speaker: Well, at least that's how John lays this out. He's doing something as he's painting us this picture. It says, now all of a sudden, almost out of nowhere, the storm storm strikes. oh But notice something here I put in my notes this week.
Speaker: You notice who didn't cause the storm? The disciples. The disciples had nothing to do with this storm. Matter of fact, the parallel accounts in Mark and in Luke make it very clear that the disciples were just doing what Jesus had told them to do.
Speaker: Jesus had said, go to the other other side of the lake. They were doing what they wanted and were told to do. And I put a note to myself, why does that matter for you and Because friends, sometimes you and I can be doing God's work, doing exactly what God is planning us to do, and we still experience the storm in life.
Speaker: we have to be real careful, and I know this because I've talked to some of you in my tenure here, and we to be real careful sometimes when we see our brothers and sisters experiencing hardship, and somehow we attribute that to something they've done.
Speaker: Well, Frank lost his job. You know, it's because, well, it's because he's cheating on his wife. You know, sometimes I know that's a drastic example, and I know none of you would ever say something like But it's very easy to attach sometimes the storm in life to somehow something that we did. And I'm here to tell you today, sometimes, brothers and sisters, the storms of life hit the best of us, the best of us who are faithful Christians.
Speaker: And it's just simply because where we live in a fallen, broken world. I'll put a note to myself, which should be comforting to you a little bit. The the presence of trouble doesn't necessarily mean the absence of God.
Speaker: Just because you have trouble in your life, a storm has hit your life, does not mean that God is not there. Now, that truth really ought to change how we face difficulties. And I put a note with big red circle around it this week.
Speaker: Red Sea Rules. Do you remember when we talked about the Red Sea Rules? Those of you who were in that Bible study on Wednesday night, this last we did this last time. We said, what happens when those storms hit us?
Speaker: The question we shouldn't ask is, well, what did I do wrong? But perhaps the better question we ask in that storm is, Lord, what are you trying to teach me in that storm? What trying to teach me? Maybe even, what are you trying to teach me about yourself here?
Speaker: Because that storm, brothers and sisters, has a way of exposing what calm waters can never expose in our lives. When everything's going well, it's easy to say that I trust God.
Speaker: But when the diagnosis change, or the money gets tight, or the family is struggling, or the future becomes uncertain, we quickly discover what we're depending upon, or maybe I should say who we're depending upon.
Speaker: Now let's look back here in the middle of the lake because that's where this story picks up. His disciples are struggling in the midst of the storm. Look at verse 19. It says, Now they had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat.
Speaker: They were terrified. Do you like that? I think sometimes I read, often read right past this sometimes. I don't want you to miss this, this little detail. They rowed three or four miles out.
Speaker: Right? Right? These are not some inexperienced guys on a boat. These are fishermen by trade. They know how to handle a boat. They're not scared when a little bit of water splashes up over the edge.
Speaker: They've most likely navigated this Sea of Galilee hundreds of times. And yet, the scripture tells us they too are struggling. Even the most seat seasoned Christian struggles in the storm.
Speaker: Matthew tells us in his account that against them. It's literally a directional. Mark says that these same disciples are in serious trouble.
Speaker: That's his word for it. They're rowing so hard and they're struggling against the waves and the wind.
Speaker: And they had reached... Mark tells us, the end of themselves. They've reached that place where they've tired themselves out. They've exhausted everything they know how to do.
Speaker: And then notice the timing here. John picks up and says, and then Jesus comes walking across the water.
Speaker: John's showing us something here. You know, he's showing us something greater than just this spectacular miracle that Jesus is walking on the water. All in the Old Testament, by the way, the authority over the sea belongs solely to God the Father.
Speaker: All throughout the Old Testament. Job 9.8 says that God marches on the waves of the sea. Psalm 77 describes God making his path through the sea.
Speaker: All throughout the Old Testament, the sea often represents chaos, it represents turmoil, and it represents something that humans cannot control. And yet,
Speaker: Here, something we can't control as humans, it says this lies completely under the authority of God. Matter of fact, it lies under Jesus' feet because he's walking right on top of the water.
Speaker: Think about that this week. I put a note to myself. The ways that were threatening the disciples was the exact same pathway that Jesus was stepping on.
Speaker: First note I want you to write down today is this.
Speaker: what That thing, whatever it is, whatever is over your head is still under his feet. Whatever you're struggling with today, whatever that storm is that you brought in with you today, whether you're feeling overwhelmed, whether you're sinking and you feel like the water's up over your head, whatever that situation is, that is still under Jesus' feet.
Speaker: many He still has authority over that.
Speaker: ah love this. The disciples see him coming, and immediately they feel... comforted. Hey, Jesus is here. No, it says what? They're terrified.
Speaker: Ever make anybody else scratch your head why why John includes that detail?
Speaker: Why are they terrified? Are they terrified because of the storm? Or are they terrified because Jesus is walking on water?
Speaker: Let's think about it quite literally. If you saw Jesus walking on the water in the middle of a storm, I don't know about comforting would be the first thing that would come to my mind. Probably terrifying because I didn't quite understand what's going on.
Speaker: But then in the midst of that storm, listen, Jesus speaks. Verse 20 calls out to them saying just these words. Don't be afraid.
Speaker: I like the New Living Translation. kind of captures the comfort in this wording. Don't be afraid I'm here. but But the Greek is even more beautiful. And I want to explain to you what's important because I don't want you to miss it.
Speaker: Jesus is saying in the Greek, Ego ami. Ego ami, I am. In the midst of the storm, don't fear, am.
Speaker: It's that same I am phrase that Moses uses, right, in Exodus 3, 13. Moses asked God, if I go back to the Israelite people and they say the God of their fathers has sent me, who shall I tell them sent me?
Speaker: What's your name? To which God responds, Ego Amin. I am who I am. Brothers sisters, this carries massive theological weight.
Speaker: This is just the first of the I am statements. We're going to see all throughout John. Jesus is going to say I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life.
Speaker: Here in the darkness with the wind howling and the waves crashing, Jesus comes to the rescue of his friends and he tells them don't be afraid. Because I am, everybody say it, here.
Speaker: I'm here. here. Not because the weather is improving, but because the one who controls the weather has arrived.
Speaker: In my study Bible I wrote, Jesus is on the scene. Calm down, everybody. Relax. Jesus is on the scene.
Speaker: It's an important distinction I put in here, right? Their courage is not based upon the weather improving. Their courage realizes the one who controls the weather is there. He says, don't be afraid because there's nothing to be afraid of.
Speaker: No, he says, there's a lot to be afraid of. Look at all the dangerous waves that are happening. But he says, don't worry. In the midst of all that struggle that you're experiencing, I'm here.
Speaker: And you can have peace. The first truth of these two things that I was going to tell you about is the second note I want you to write down. Jesus is present in the storm.
Speaker: That thing you're struggling with right now, and we all are, he's there. He's in that storm with you.
Speaker: have a great illustration, and and I'm um'm looking out to see where my dog parents are today. I know, Aaron, we were just co-dog parents just for you just a couple days ago.
Speaker: Where are my dog parents? If you have dogs and you love them like kids, yeah. You know when the storms happen for some of your dogs, when the thunder starts happening, what do they do? Freak out, some of your dogs do.
Speaker: We have two, one of them's great, she'll sleep through anything. She's like Kim, she can sleep through anything. The other one, hot mess. like She'll hear the rumbling 15 miles away. And that's put it as an illustration to myself, I thought you know when that thunderstorm comes,
Speaker: It's real. They know it. They start freaking out. But then as soon as they jump in the bed with you, right, or the couch next to you, there's that comfort that you provide.
Speaker: Doesn't mean that the storm's not there. Yeah, the storm's still going on. But that person, that trusted parent, that dog mom, that dog dad, just changes everything when they're there.
Speaker: Jesus' presence changes everything for us when he's there in the middle of that storm.
Speaker: He lets us know i am here. So maybe the question for you this morning is not how quickly can Jesus get me out of this situation, which I'm guilty of. I'll be the first to tell you that. When that storm hits, you're like, i don't like that storm.
Speaker: I don't like being in the storm. I like the calm weather.
Speaker: How long is this going to last? What did I do to deserve this?
Speaker: Maybe the better question is is, can I trust Jesus while I'm still in the middle of this storm?
Speaker: Because Jesus doesn't have to remove that storm before you and I can experience peace. We can experience peace in the storm. He tells us this, verse 21. You'll look with me.
Speaker: He shows us what happens when the disciples recognize him for who he is. Look, verse 21 says... Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination.
Speaker: Notice the change, how quickly the change went. One moment they're terrified. The next moment they're eager to let him in the boat. What changed? Jesus is on the scene.
Speaker: Jesus has arrived. And they receive him. And John says immediately they arrived at their destination. I love that. He's crystal clear, right? Jesus just not some ordinary passenger who just happened to climb on the boat.
Speaker: He's the Lord over the storm. He's the Lord over that situation. The second final truth that you're going to write down is your third note today. Jesus is Lord over the storm.
Speaker: So he's not just present in the storm. He's Lord over the storm. but What does that mean? That means that He knows about it before it's ever hit. He's in control of that storm that you're in He might have actually placed you in that storm on purpose.
Speaker: I know some of you to really struggle with that theologically.
Speaker: He puts us in these situations to see who are we going to turn to. Are we going to try to fix it ourselves? Or are we going to trust him to get us out Are we going to trust him to get us out of it, even if it doesn't look like the way we thought it was going to be resolved?
Speaker: The disciples spend hours fighting forces well beyond their control, and Jesus shows up, and they receive him, and it says he brings them exactly where they need to go.
Speaker: Now, we need to be real careful with applying this. I put it as a guard to myself today. This passage doesn't promise that if we trust Jesus that every problem will just simply disappear. Matter of fact, Scripture is really clear that you and I as believers, we will experience suffering.
Speaker: We will experience the cancers. We will bury people that we love. We will face financial difficulties. We will walk through family problems. We'll still experience grief. So the promise is not trust Jesus and you'll never experience a storm.
Speaker: The promise, brothers and sisters, is far greater. It's no storm can prevent Jesus from accomplishing his purposes for his people.
Speaker: The storm doesn't get the final word. Cancer doesn't get the final word. Fear doesn't get the final word. Loss doesn't get the final word. Death itself does not get the final word.
Speaker: Jesus gets the final word because he is the Lord over it all.
Speaker: And because he is, you and I can experience peace even in the storm.
Speaker: Now that doesn't mean, where's my brother Pease? Brother Pease, this is for you. I put a note to myself. This doesn't mean we stop growing. Doesn't mean we stop going to the doctor.
Speaker: Doesn't mean we stop making wise financial decisions or stop having those difficult conversations with our grown, unbelieving family members. No, it just simply means we need to stop pretending that everything ultimately depends on us.
Speaker: Some of you here this morning are exhausted, not because of life storms, Because you're carrying some burden that God never meant for you to carry. He's simply wanting you to offload it onto Him. And He's waiting for you to do so this morning.
Speaker: So how do we apply these two truths today? that That Jesus is present in the storm and that He is Lord over the storm. Because, he brothers and sisters, if He is present and He is Lord, then that should shape how we respond to the troubles and the trials that we experience.
Speaker: How do we apply this? Well, for some of you here this morning, this is a simple acknowledgement that says, Jesus, I cannot control the situation that I'm in. But I know that you're here. And I know that you can because of who you are.
Speaker: And I'm going to trust you with that. I'm not going to be fearful. I'm not going to be frantic. I'm not going to be anxious. I'm not going to stay up until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning worrying about it.
Speaker: I'm going to trust you because you are present and you are Lord over that situation.
Speaker: Very practical way you're going to do that this week. You're going to take a piece of paper.
Speaker: I know what you're thinking. Pastor always wants us to write stuff down.
Speaker: I didn't say journal it. But you can journal it if that makes you feel better. Why do we write stuff down? Why am I so adamant? Because you you remember it as you write it. Then as you review it during the week, that's the second time. And then when you actually apply it in your life, that's the third time.
Speaker: there's There's a rhyme and a reason why we do this. I'm not just having you write it for nothing. Take a piece of paper and I want you to write this one sentence if you're ready to write it down. The storm I cannot control right now is fill in the blank.
Speaker: The storm i cannot control right now is, and I know many of you are thinking about it. You already got it your head. You know exactly what it is that I'm talking about. And then right under that sentence, I want you to write this.
Speaker: Jesus, you are here. Jesus, you are Lord. I trust you with this situation. Jesus, you are here. means he's present. Jesus, you are Lord, and I trust you with this situation.
Speaker: The storm I cannot control right now is my grown kids and their salvation. Underneath that, Jesus, you are here. you are Lord over that situation, and I trust you with it.
Speaker: Here's what i want you to do with this piece of paper. Every time you start... Allowing your mind to drift and worry. Which I love my Christian people who worry all the time. Because they tell me, oh, pastor, I don't really worry. I'm just more concerned.
Speaker: That's semantics. You're playing a game with semantics right there. You're still worrying. Every time that thought comes into your mind, I want you to grasp it. I'm not going to go there, and you go immediately to this piece piece of paper.
Speaker: That storm I cannot control is, fill in the blank, Jesus, you're here you are Lord, and I trust you with that situation.
Speaker: Doesn't mean you stop rowing. Doesn't mean you don't make that phone call. You still got to go to that appointment. You still have to have that tough conversation. Do whatever faithfulness requires of you, but first, go to this piece of paper.
Speaker: You might be surprised at just how much energy we we often spend on things that God's never asked us to spend any energy on.
