"A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!" Read the book: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad DayPictures from book on the screen.
All of us have days and sometimes weeks and sometimes months like that. We can relate to Alexander. We all have entertained thoughts of trying to find a way of escape from the storms of life. I need to tell you this morning. Australia is not an option.
Matthew 14:22-32 “As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night. Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror.But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”He said, “Come ahead.”Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”
There are days when life seems to be one continual storm.Charlie Brown builds a beautiful sandcastle, works on it for hours. Finally he stands back, looks at it. It’s wonderful. Just as he’s admiring it, a storm comes up and blows over all of his sandcastle. Now, he’s standing where his beautiful masterpiece was, on level sand, saying to himself, "I know there’s a lesson in this, but I’m not sure what it is."
Every one of us has our sandcastles blown away. Every once in awhile we back up and say, "Why am I being hit with this storm of life?" Now, sometimes these storms are caused by the devil, sometimes by other people, sometimes by us. Sometimes they’re allowed by the Lord. They come from different sources, but they do have a purpose in our life.
You are in the middle of the storm and are experiencing all kind of emotions. Have you found yourself wondering where the next moment is going to land you? Have you been angry at God or been blaming God?
I want to give you some thought from the scripture that was read to you today found in Math 14.
1.Christ Brought Me Here: Consolation
All too often our first reaction to the storms that surround our lives is to wonder where God is.
The scripture that we are studying today allows us to draw some very interesting observations.
A.The storm came because the disciples were in God’s will.
“As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people.”
Jesus knew that the storm was raging, and He deliberately directed His disciples into the storm.
There is not one thing that happens with you and I but what God permits it. In this case the Lord while expressing concern for the disciples by insisting they leave early, is at the same time allowing them to enter a storm which will be very disconcerting to them.
The disciples were safer in the storm in the will of God than on dry land with the crowd and out of the storm.
B.There are two kinds of storms: correction and perfection
There are times when storms enter in to our lives that God uses for discipline and correction. The danger with this is that some of us will go through something that happens and attribute it to some sin or disobedience in our lives.
All of us find personal storms uncomfortable.
None of us enjoy being in the storms. We always want to know why. We always want to know how long they are going to last. A storm of correction is for our own good. We must ask ourselves the question, Is there anything I need to correct in my life.
Often God will speak to us while we are in the middle of some adversity.
We become very attentive and focused when things are not going well. We become searches for truth when our worlds are falling apart.
There are storms of perfection, when Christ permits the storm to help conform us to His image.
It might be that Christ has allowed your storm to come into your life because He wants to make you more like Him.
Being a Christ-follower is our goal you know. We pray sometimes to be like Jesus. We sometimes put it into music and sing of our desire to be like Jesus.
Take advantage of the storm in your life and let God use it to mold you into His image.
This is where the bitter or better principle comes in. Let the adversity and difficulty shape you into something better.
Saints of God have historically considered suffering to be a God thing.
I Peter 4:12, “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process with glory just around the corner.” (The Message)
Remember that this storm may just be in God’s will for you. He is Sovereign, and the One who sent you into the storm can care for you.
The central figure of the story is a person who accepts everything that happens as manifestations of divine power. And he said, "It is not for me to question the workings of divine providence." All his life, misfortune had been his. Yet never once did he complain. He got married and his wife ran away with the hired man. His daughter was deceived by a villain. His son was lynched. A fire burned down his barn. A cyclone blew away his home. A hail storm destroyed his crops, and the banker foreclosed on his mortgage, taking his farm. Yet at each stroke of misfortune, he knelt and gave thanks to God Almighty for his unchangeable mercy. After a time, penniless but still submissive to God, he landed in the county poorhouse. One day the overseer sent him out to plow a potato field. A thunderstorm was passing over, when without warning a bolt of lightning descended from the sky. It melted the plowshare, stripped most of his clothing from him, singed off his beard, branded his naked back with the initials of a neighboring cattleman, and hurled him through a barbed wire fence. When he recovered consciousness, he got up slowly on his knees, clasped his hands, raised his eye toward heaven and, then, for the first time in his life, asserted himself and said, "Lord, this is getting plumb ridiculous." Have you been there? Haven’t we all, at one time or another, felt that we had more than our fair share?
Let the storm make you into His likeness. Let it guide you into correction if you have done something that needs to be fixed.
2.Christ is Praying for Me: Intercession
When life falls apart we sometimes feel as if Jesus has deserted us.
Let me give you a Biblical perspective on that.
The Bible clearly teaches that if you are a person of faith and a Christ-follower, He will never leave you or forsake you.
Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father praying and making intercession for you and I.
Hebrews 4:14, “We have a great high priest who has gone into heaven and He is Jesus, the Son of God. That is why we must hold on to what we have said about Him. Jesus understands every weakness of ours because He was tempted in every way that we are, but He did not sin. So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God and there we will be treated with undeserved kindness and we will find help.”
Why is it so hard to believe this? Why is it so easy to forget this fact of the Bible?
Don’t ever forget it. Take comfort in it.
As a matter of fact for some of you there may be days when you run out of words because of the pain caused by your storm.
The devil will come around and belittle your faith and say, “Look at you. You can’t even pray.”
Remember and take comfort that even though you can’t see Him, God is in control and Jesus is praying for you even at that moment.
The disciples could not see Jesus but He could see them.
For about nine long hours they couldn’t see Him but He was praying for them.
He is praying:
•That your faith won’t fail.
•That you will not follow the mood of the mob that chased after Jesus because of His miracles.
•He is praying that you won’t give up and go under in the storm.
If you knew that Christ was in the next room praying for you, would it give you new courage to endure the storm and do His will?
At this very moment He is praying for you.
3.Christ Will Come to Me: Compassion
The disciples in this story did not give up.
They had been on the lake for nine hours yet they had not turned around. They were still making every effort to go in the direction Jesus had sent them.
During the storm of life, He’s not an aloof God, but He enters into our storm. Look at verse 25, "A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his disciples."
Do you know what Malachi says about God? That God sits as a refiner and purifies the silver. Malachi says that God is like a silversmith. I heard a silversmith one time describe his job. And in fact, I want to read something that he said. Listen to this very carefully. Here’s what a silversmith says he does when refining the silver. He said, "I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured." And in that interview he said, "I never take my eye off of the silver in the furnace. I don’t want to take it out too early because if I take it out too early, it won’t be purified. But I don’t want to leave it in too late because if I leave it in too late, it will be injured." So he said, "When the silver is in the fire, I focus. I don’t let anything distract me, I let nothing take off my focus. I watch that silver carefully, waiting for that right moment to take it out." And they asked him, "When’s the right moment?" And he said, "I know the silver is pure when I can see my face reflected in it."
Maybe this doesn’t happen to you , but I always think I’m in the worst part of the storm. As soon as the storm comes, I’m saying, "Okay, God, bail me out. Here I am. Find me. Rescue me." But sometimes he doesn’t rescue me. Sometimes he doesn’t come. I have to have the assurance that He is the great silversmith and while I’m in the furnace, He focuses and watches. His job isn’t a quick rescue mission. His job is to purify me. So He holds until the right moment and then He comes. Never too early, never too late. Just on time.
Note when Jesus comes to us...
A. He comes to us at the darkest hour. "...a little before morning..."That’s when Jesus came. We know that the darkest hour of the night is right before the dawn, a little while right before the morning. We used to sing a hymn, "Just When I Need Him, Jesus Is Near. Just when I falter, just when I fear. Ready to help me, ready to cheer. Just when I need Him, Jesus is near."
He walks into the storms of life just at your darkest hour. The time when you’re the most needy. The time when the silver is just right, that’s when He comes out to the boat. Do you notice they’d been in the storm for quite a while? Was Jesus apathetic? No. Was he ignorant? Absolutely not. He saw everything. He knew where they where. He saw their fears. He heard their cries. But He didn’t come until the hour was the darkest.
4.Christ Will Help me Grow: Instruction
. He comes to us victorious over our greatest fears. "...Jesus came walking on the water..."In other words, he comes walking on the very thing that frightened the disciples. Do you see it? What are they worried about? They’re worried about the waves. That boat is being tossed back and forth. They’re afraid they’re going to drown. They’re afraid it’s going to capsize. They’re looking at those high waves coming over the sides of that boat. They’re bailing water as fast as they can. These guys are fishermen. They have been on the water all their life. They’re scared. The waves are coming and all of a sudden, on the very thing that causes them to fear , the high waves, the place where their greatest fears are resting, Jesus comes walking.
In His quiet, majestic way, as He’s walking on the water, Jesus is saying, "Guys, the thing that is the greatest storm in your life, I keep under my feet." If you’re sick, He comes walking on your sickness. If you’re afraid of death, what did He do on Easter? He came walking on the waves of death, "Oh, death where is thy sting? Oh, grave where is thy victory?"
He’s standing on top of the stone. He’s saying, "I’m able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than you can ever ask or think. I can do that which gives you the greatest fear, the thing which causes you to tremble, the thing which causes you to falter. I come walking on it. I stand on that stuff. I’m victor. I’m the one who reigns. " Hallelujah. He comes walking on the water. They’re worried about those waves getting in the boat, and He’s just coming right on across. And he says, "Fellas, you may be worried about it but I step on stuff like this."
Quote by C. H. Spurgeon "When God allows us to be put into the furnace, he goes with us." Do you see it?
There’s a great passage of Scripture, Isaiah 43: "But now, the Lord who created you, O Israel, says, ’Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you go through the deep waters and the great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through the rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up, and the flames will not consume you. Why? For I am the Lord, your God.’"
"How Firm A Foundation."
"Fear not, I am with thee. Oh, be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, cause thee to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace all sufficient shall be thy supply. The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine."
He’s the silversmith. "And when through the deep waters I call three to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow. For I will be with thee, thy trials to bless and I’ll sanctify to thee thy deepest distress."
He ministers to us in the storm. Look what happens in verse 26 and 27, are you ready? "When they saw Him, they thought He was a ghost. They were terrified and started screaming. At once Jesus said to them, `I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid.’"
He ministers to us in spite of our misunderstandings. They didn’t know what was happening. They looked out and thought He was a ghost. They were scared to death. Now, they’re even more scared. They don’t have a grasp of the situation, and Jesus walks in and says "Don’t worry."
You know, I run into Christians all the time who somehow think that they should understand everything. Do you know nowhere in the Bible does it tell you, as a believer, that you should understand everything? I run into Christians who feel guilty because they say, "I’m going through a terrible storm in my life and I don’t know what’s happening to me, and there must be something wrong with me because my connection must not be right with God or surely I could figure it out." Can I tell you something? There are things in this life that you and I are never going to figure out. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you’re going to know everything. In fact, Paul said, "We look through a glass darkly on this earth." We look through a smoky glass.
Now, He says there will be a time when we’re with Him, when we’re going to see clearly. But you’re not going to understand everything. You’ve got a pastor that doesn’t understand everything. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t even like pastors that have all the answers. I don’t like Christians that have all the answers. I don’t like Christians who, with little clichés will pass off stuff to you, as if giving you a little fodder, a little slogan, will take care of you. There are things I don’t understand. I’ve got a top 10 list ofquestions I’m going to ask God when I get there, and it keeps growing every day. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you’re going to understand everything.
Now, Paul says in Romans 8, "For we know all things work together." Paul said we know it. Why do we know it? Because we know that God’s on the throne and God’s sovereign. We know that it’s going to be okay because of God. But Paul doesn’t say you understand everything. We’re not going to figure it all out. You see, our security isn’t what we know in our mind. Our significance is not what we know. Our security is in Who we know. So we’re in the midst of the storm. We say, "I don’t understand it. I’m not even sure it’s fair. I don’t like it. But I know who’s sovereign over the storm."
And we can be just like Job. He wasn’t a prosperity preacher. He had more sense. He said, "The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Job, do you like the ash heap? "Absolutely not." Do you like the boils? "No, thank you." Do you like your wife coming out the back door and saying, "Curse God and die?" "No, it doesn’t really thrill me. But the Lord gives and the Lord takes away." All Job is saying is, "I don’t understand it. Probably don’t think it’s right. Certainly don’t like it. But I know who’s in control."
A. He ministers to us in spite of our misunderstandings.
B. He ministers to us in spite of our fears.
5.Christ Will See me Through Eventually: Conservation
“. . .Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”
What God starts He finishes. . . Jesus and Peter walk back to the boat together.
The waves were still high. The wind didn’t stop until they were both in the boat. Jesus was there. Jesus wants to be a part of your storm as well. You have to look for Him. You have to quit looking at the storm and the waves. You have to quit focusing on the circumstances.
Don’t listen to others in the boat. Don’t look at the waves. Don’t look at your feet. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, pg.159
It all happened in one day. One day he could choose his tee time at the nicest golf course in the country; the next he couldn’t even be the caddie. One day he could Lear jet across the country to see the heavyweight bout at the Las Vegas Mirage. The next he couldn’t afford a city bus across town.
Talk about calm becoming chaos.
The first thing to go is his empire. The market crashes his assets tumble. What is liquid goes dry. What has been up goes down. Stocks go flat, and Job goes broke. There he sits in his leather chair and soon to be auctioned off mahogany desk when the phone rings with news of calamity number two.
The kids were at a resort for the holidays when a storm blew in and took them with it. Shell-shocked and dumbfounded, Job looks out the window into the sky that seems to be getting darker by the minute.
He starts praying, telling God that things can’t get any worse. . . and that’s exactly what happens. He feels a pain in his chest that is more than last nights ravioli. The next thing he knows, he is bouncing in an ambulance with wires stuck to his chest and needles stuck in his arm.
He ends up tethered to a heart monitor in a community hospital room. Next to him lies an illegal immigrant who can’t speak English.
Not that he lacks for conversation. There is his wife. Who could blame her for being upset at the week’s calamities? Who could blame her for telling Job to curse God? But to curse God and die?
If Job doesn’t already feel abandoned, you know he does the minute his wife tells him to pull the plug and be done with it.
Where are you this morning? Are you in the boat? Are you trying to walk on the water in the middle of the storm?
Look to Jesus. Let Him melt you, mold you, shape you and make you into His image.
Fall at His feet and worship with the disciples.
“The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”
2002/09/22
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"A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!" Read the book: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad DayPictures from book on the screen.
All of us have days and sometimes weeks and sometimes months like that. We can relate to Alexander. We all have entertained thoughts of trying to find a way of escape from the storms of life. I need to tell you this morning. Australia is not an option.
Matthew 14:22-32 “As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night. Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror.But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”He said, “Come ahead.”Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”
There are days when life seems to be one continual storm.Charlie Brown builds a beautiful sandcastle, works on it for hours. Finally he stands back, looks at it. It’s wonderful. Just as he’s admiring it, a storm comes up and blows over all of his sandcastle. Now, he’s standing where his beautiful masterpiece was, on level sand, saying to himself, "I know there’s a lesson in this, but I’m not sure what it is."
Every one of us has our sandcastles blown away. Every once in awhile we back up and say, "Why am I being hit with this storm of life?" Now, sometimes these storms are caused by the devil, sometimes by other people, sometimes by us. Sometimes they’re allowed by the Lord. They come from different sources, but they do have a purpose in our life.
You are in the middle of the storm and are experiencing all kind of emotions. Have you found yourself wondering where the next moment is going to land you? Have you been angry at God or been blaming God?
I want to give you some thought from the scripture that was read to you today found in Math 14.
1.Christ Brought Me Here: Consolation
All too often our first reaction to the storms that surround our lives is to wonder where God is.
The scripture that we are studying today allows us to draw some very interesting observations.
A.The storm came because the disciples were in God’s will.
“As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people.”
Jesus knew that the storm was raging, and He deliberately directed His disciples into the storm.
There is not one thing that happens with you and I but what God permits it. In this case the Lord while expressing concern for the disciples by insisting they leave early, is at the same time allowing them to enter a storm which will be very disconcerting to them.
The disciples were safer in the storm in the will of God than on dry land with the crowd and out of the storm.
B.There are two kinds of storms: correction and perfection
There are times when storms enter in to our lives that God uses for discipline and correction. The danger with this is that some of us will go through something that happens and attribute it to some sin or disobedience in our lives.
All of us find personal storms uncomfortable.
None of us enjoy being in the storms. We always want to know why. We always want to know how long they are going to last. A storm of correction is for our own good. We must ask ourselves the question, Is there anything I need to correct in my life.
Often God will speak to us while we are in the middle of some adversity.
We become very attentive and focused when things are not going well. We become searches for truth when our worlds are falling apart.
There are storms of perfection, when Christ permits the storm to help conform us to His image.
It might be that Christ has allowed your storm to come into your life because He wants to make you more like Him.
Being a Christ-follower is our goal you know. We pray sometimes to be like Jesus. We sometimes put it into music and sing of our desire to be like Jesus.
Take advantage of the storm in your life and let God use it to mold you into His image.
This is where the bitter or better principle comes in. Let the adversity and difficulty shape you into something better.
Saints of God have historically considered suffering to be a God thing.
I Peter 4:12, “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process with glory just around the corner.” (The Message)
Remember that this storm may just be in God’s will for you. He is Sovereign, and the One who sent you into the storm can care for you.
The central figure of the story is a person who accepts everything that happens as manifestations of divine power. And he said, "It is not for me to question the workings of divine providence." All his life, misfortune had been his. Yet never once did he complain. He got married and his wife ran away with the hired man. His daughter was deceived by a villain. His son was lynched. A fire burned down his barn. A cyclone blew away his home. A hail storm destroyed his crops, and the banker foreclosed on his mortgage, taking his farm. Yet at each stroke of misfortune, he knelt and gave thanks to God Almighty for his unchangeable mercy. After a time, penniless but still submissive to God, he landed in the county poorhouse. One day the overseer sent him out to plow a potato field. A thunderstorm was passing over, when without warning a bolt of lightning descended from the sky. It melted the plowshare, stripped most of his clothing from him, singed off his beard, branded his naked back with the initials of a neighboring cattleman, and hurled him through a barbed wire fence. When he recovered consciousness, he got up slowly on his knees, clasped his hands, raised his eye toward heaven and, then, for the first time in his life, asserted himself and said, "Lord, this is getting plumb ridiculous." Have you been there? Haven’t we all, at one time or another, felt that we had more than our fair share?
Let the storm make you into His likeness. Let it guide you into correction if you have done something that needs to be fixed.
2.Christ is Praying for Me: Intercession
When life falls apart we sometimes feel as if Jesus has deserted us.
Let me give you a Biblical perspective on that.
The Bible clearly teaches that if you are a person of faith and a Christ-follower, He will never leave you or forsake you.
Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father praying and making intercession for you and I.
Hebrews 4:14, “We have a great high priest who has gone into heaven and He is Jesus, the Son of God. That is why we must hold on to what we have said about Him. Jesus understands every weakness of ours because He was tempted in every way that we are, but He did not sin. So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God and there we will be treated with undeserved kindness and we will find help.”
Why is it so hard to believe this? Why is it so easy to forget this fact of the Bible?
Don’t ever forget it. Take comfort in it.
As a matter of fact for some of you there may be days when you run out of words because of the pain caused by your storm.
The devil will come around and belittle your faith and say, “Look at you. You can’t even pray.”
Remember and take comfort that even though you can’t see Him, God is in control and Jesus is praying for you even at that moment.
The disciples could not see Jesus but He could see them.
For about nine long hours they couldn’t see Him but He was praying for them.
He is praying:
•That your faith won’t fail.
•That you will not follow the mood of the mob that chased after Jesus because of His miracles.
•He is praying that you won’t give up and go under in the storm.
If you knew that Christ was in the next room praying for you, would it give you new courage to endure the storm and do His will?
At this very moment He is praying for you.
3.Christ Will Come to Me: Compassion
The disciples in this story did not give up.
They had been on the lake for nine hours yet they had not turned around. They were still making every effort to go in the direction Jesus had sent them.
During the storm of life, He’s not an aloof God, but He enters into our storm. Look at verse 25, "A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his disciples."
Do you know what Malachi says about God? That God sits as a refiner and purifies the silver. Malachi says that God is like a silversmith. I heard a silversmith one time describe his job. And in fact, I want to read something that he said. Listen to this very carefully. Here’s what a silversmith says he does when refining the silver. He said, "I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured." And in that interview he said, "I never take my eye off of the silver in the furnace. I don’t want to take it out too early because if I take it out too early, it won’t be purified. But I don’t want to leave it in too late because if I leave it in too late, it will be injured." So he said, "When the silver is in the fire, I focus. I don’t let anything distract me, I let nothing take off my focus. I watch that silver carefully, waiting for that right moment to take it out." And they asked him, "When’s the right moment?" And he said, "I know the silver is pure when I can see my face reflected in it."
Maybe this doesn’t happen to you , but I always think I’m in the worst part of the storm. As soon as the storm comes, I’m saying, "Okay, God, bail me out. Here I am. Find me. Rescue me." But sometimes he doesn’t rescue me. Sometimes he doesn’t come. I have to have the assurance that He is the great silversmith and while I’m in the furnace, He focuses and watches. His job isn’t a quick rescue mission. His job is to purify me. So He holds until the right moment and then He comes. Never too early, never too late. Just on time.
Note when Jesus comes to us...
A. He comes to us at the darkest hour. "...a little before morning..."That’s when Jesus came. We know that the darkest hour of the night is right before the dawn, a little while right before the morning. We used to sing a hymn, "Just When I Need Him, Jesus Is Near. Just when I falter, just when I fear. Ready to help me, ready to cheer. Just when I need Him, Jesus is near."
He walks into the storms of life just at your darkest hour. The time when you’re the most needy. The time when the silver is just right, that’s when He comes out to the boat. Do you notice they’d been in the storm for quite a while? Was Jesus apathetic? No. Was he ignorant? Absolutely not. He saw everything. He knew where they where. He saw their fears. He heard their cries. But He didn’t come until the hour was the darkest.
4.Christ Will Help me Grow: Instruction
. He comes to us victorious over our greatest fears. "...Jesus came walking on the water..."In other words, he comes walking on the very thing that frightened the disciples. Do you see it? What are they worried about? They’re worried about the waves. That boat is being tossed back and forth. They’re afraid they’re going to drown. They’re afraid it’s going to capsize. They’re looking at those high waves coming over the sides of that boat. They’re bailing water as fast as they can. These guys are fishermen. They have been on the water all their life. They’re scared. The waves are coming and all of a sudden, on the very thing that causes them to fear , the high waves, the place where their greatest fears are resting, Jesus comes walking.
In His quiet, majestic way, as He’s walking on the water, Jesus is saying, "Guys, the thing that is the greatest storm in your life, I keep under my feet." If you’re sick, He comes walking on your sickness. If you’re afraid of death, what did He do on Easter? He came walking on the waves of death, "Oh, death where is thy sting? Oh, grave where is thy victory?"
He’s standing on top of the stone. He’s saying, "I’m able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than you can ever ask or think. I can do that which gives you the greatest fear, the thing which causes you to tremble, the thing which causes you to falter. I come walking on it. I stand on that stuff. I’m victor. I’m the one who reigns. " Hallelujah. He comes walking on the water. They’re worried about those waves getting in the boat, and He’s just coming right on across. And he says, "Fellas, you may be worried about it but I step on stuff like this."
Quote by C. H. Spurgeon "When God allows us to be put into the furnace, he goes with us." Do you see it?
There’s a great passage of Scripture, Isaiah 43: "But now, the Lord who created you, O Israel, says, ’Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you go through the deep waters and the great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through the rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up, and the flames will not consume you. Why? For I am the Lord, your God.’"
"How Firm A Foundation."
"Fear not, I am with thee. Oh, be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, cause thee to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace all sufficient shall be thy supply. The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine."
He’s the silversmith. "And when through the deep waters I call three to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow. For I will be with thee, thy trials to bless and I’ll sanctify to thee thy deepest distress."
He ministers to us in the storm. Look what happens in verse 26 and 27, are you ready? "When they saw Him, they thought He was a ghost. They were terrified and started screaming. At once Jesus said to them, `I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid.’"
He ministers to us in spite of our misunderstandings. They didn’t know what was happening. They looked out and thought He was a ghost. They were scared to death. Now, they’re even more scared. They don’t have a grasp of the situation, and Jesus walks in and says "Don’t worry."
You know, I run into Christians all the time who somehow think that they should understand everything. Do you know nowhere in the Bible does it tell you, as a believer, that you should understand everything? I run into Christians who feel guilty because they say, "I’m going through a terrible storm in my life and I don’t know what’s happening to me, and there must be something wrong with me because my connection must not be right with God or surely I could figure it out." Can I tell you something? There are things in this life that you and I are never going to figure out. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you’re going to know everything. In fact, Paul said, "We look through a glass darkly on this earth." We look through a smoky glass.
Now, He says there will be a time when we’re with Him, when we’re going to see clearly. But you’re not going to understand everything. You’ve got a pastor that doesn’t understand everything. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t even like pastors that have all the answers. I don’t like Christians that have all the answers. I don’t like Christians who, with little clichés will pass off stuff to you, as if giving you a little fodder, a little slogan, will take care of you. There are things I don’t understand. I’ve got a top 10 list ofquestions I’m going to ask God when I get there, and it keeps growing every day. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you’re going to understand everything.
Now, Paul says in Romans 8, "For we know all things work together." Paul said we know it. Why do we know it? Because we know that God’s on the throne and God’s sovereign. We know that it’s going to be okay because of God. But Paul doesn’t say you understand everything. We’re not going to figure it all out. You see, our security isn’t what we know in our mind. Our significance is not what we know. Our security is in Who we know. So we’re in the midst of the storm. We say, "I don’t understand it. I’m not even sure it’s fair. I don’t like it. But I know who’s sovereign over the storm."
And we can be just like Job. He wasn’t a prosperity preacher. He had more sense. He said, "The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Job, do you like the ash heap? "Absolutely not." Do you like the boils? "No, thank you." Do you like your wife coming out the back door and saying, "Curse God and die?" "No, it doesn’t really thrill me. But the Lord gives and the Lord takes away." All Job is saying is, "I don’t understand it. Probably don’t think it’s right. Certainly don’t like it. But I know who’s in control."
A. He ministers to us in spite of our misunderstandings.
B. He ministers to us in spite of our fears.
5.Christ Will See me Through Eventually: Conservation
“. . .Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”
What God starts He finishes. . . Jesus and Peter walk back to the boat together.
The waves were still high. The wind didn’t stop until they were both in the boat. Jesus was there. Jesus wants to be a part of your storm as well. You have to look for Him. You have to quit looking at the storm and the waves. You have to quit focusing on the circumstances.
Don’t listen to others in the boat. Don’t look at the waves. Don’t look at your feet. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, pg.159
It all happened in one day. One day he could choose his tee time at the nicest golf course in the country; the next he couldn’t even be the caddie. One day he could Lear jet across the country to see the heavyweight bout at the Las Vegas Mirage. The next he couldn’t afford a city bus across town.
Talk about calm becoming chaos.
The first thing to go is his empire. The market crashes his assets tumble. What is liquid goes dry. What has been up goes down. Stocks go flat, and Job goes broke. There he sits in his leather chair and soon to be auctioned off mahogany desk when the phone rings with news of calamity number two.
The kids were at a resort for the holidays when a storm blew in and took them with it. Shell-shocked and dumbfounded, Job looks out the window into the sky that seems to be getting darker by the minute.
He starts praying, telling God that things can’t get any worse. . . and that’s exactly what happens. He feels a pain in his chest that is more than last nights ravioli. The next thing he knows, he is bouncing in an ambulance with wires stuck to his chest and needles stuck in his arm.
He ends up tethered to a heart monitor in a community hospital room. Next to him lies an illegal immigrant who can’t speak English.
Not that he lacks for conversation. There is his wife. Who could blame her for being upset at the week’s calamities? Who could blame her for telling Job to curse God? But to curse God and die?
If Job doesn’t already feel abandoned, you know he does the minute his wife tells him to pull the plug and be done with it.
Where are you this morning? Are you in the boat? Are you trying to walk on the water in the middle of the storm?
Look to Jesus. Let Him melt you, mold you, shape you and make you into His image.
Fall at His feet and worship with the disciples.
“The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”
All of us have days and sometimes weeks and sometimes months like that.