WEBVTT 00:00:31.869 --> 00:00:41.229 Alright, I'll invite you to open your Bibles, please, to Luke chapter 8, and we will be looking at verses 22 through 25 this morning. 00:00:41.789 --> 00:00:55.950 So some years ago, uh a group of buddies and I, we went on a trip to Charleston, North Carolina, and uh I love Charleston and I love the beach, and there was a there was a hurricane rolling in. 00:00:56.269 --> 00:01:02.909 So I really like to body surf, and the waves were just better than anything I'd ever seen in my entire life. 00:01:03.070 --> 00:01:09.549 They're like 10 foot waves absolutely sending us flying and pummeling us into the sand. 00:01:09.789 --> 00:01:12.430 I mean, it was totally unsafe. 00:01:13.469 --> 00:01:14.509 But it was so much fun. 00:01:14.829 --> 00:01:25.069 One of my friends, he got his bell rung so bad that he had to just go by himself, sit in the sand, look at the ocean for an hour, and ponder his station in life. 00:01:28.349 --> 00:01:33.069 Have you ever had to reckon with the awesome power of nature? 00:01:35.549 --> 00:01:38.349 Sometimes it's fun, like what I just said. 00:01:38.590 --> 00:01:40.750 Most of the times, not so much. 00:01:40.990 --> 00:01:47.629 Like when I had to ride my or drive my little Nissan sports car through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in a white-out blizzard. 00:01:47.870 --> 00:01:54.990 Or when I spent weeks, and maybe you too, helping neighbors clean up after the Nashville flood in 2010. 00:01:55.469 --> 00:01:59.870 Just a few days ago, like I just prayed, the flooding in the Texas Hill Country. 00:02:00.189 --> 00:02:04.750 Nothing will humble us faster than a great storm. 00:02:06.669 --> 00:02:16.990 The scale of it, the sheer intensity of it, the reminder of how little we are in the presence of nature and its power. 00:02:17.710 --> 00:02:23.789 Today's passage, we are going to see Jesus' disciples come up against that power. 00:02:24.030 --> 00:02:42.269 And right at the moment when everything seems lost, Jesus will get up and he will demonstrate that just like everything else in all of creation, even nature, in all of its glory and all of its power, it has no choice but to obey him. 00:02:43.069 --> 00:02:45.469 He'll put the winds back in their box. 00:02:45.629 --> 00:02:50.989 He'll put the waves back underwater, and he'll do it all with only a word. 00:02:52.030 --> 00:03:06.669 And what I hope this story will teach us this morning is that when the, not just the literal, but the metaphorical storms of life threaten to overtake us, we have a Savior who is sovereign over the storm. 00:03:06.909 --> 00:03:14.750 We have a God who is not surprised by the storm, but who is in perfect control of it from start to finish. 00:03:14.909 --> 00:03:21.229 And if he is with us, then we can withstand whatever the storm throws at us. 00:03:21.709 --> 00:03:26.750 So, with that said, I'll invite you to rise as we read today's sermon text. 00:03:26.829 --> 00:03:29.870 Again, this is Luke 8, verses 22 through 25. 00:03:31.949 --> 00:03:38.750 One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, Let us go across to the other side of the lake. 00:03:38.989 --> 00:03:40.269 So they set out. 00:03:40.429 --> 00:03:42.829 And as they sailed, he fell asleep. 00:03:43.069 --> 00:03:47.949 And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 00:03:48.189 --> 00:03:52.109 And they went and woke him, saying, Master, master, we are perishing. 00:03:52.349 --> 00:03:58.750 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 00:03:59.229 --> 00:04:02.989 He said to them, Where is your faith? 00:04:03.629 --> 00:04:05.150 And they were afraid. 00:04:05.389 --> 00:04:11.389 And they marveled, saying to one another, Who then is this that he commands even winds and water? 00:04:11.549 --> 00:04:12.909 And they obey him. 00:04:13.789 --> 00:04:18.030 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 00:04:18.269 --> 00:04:29.709 Father, send your Holy Spirit now, we pray, to illumine our reading of the Word, to help us to understand what you have for us here, to help us hold fast to the hope we have in Christ. 00:04:29.949 --> 00:04:31.629 It's in his name that we pray. 00:04:31.870 --> 00:04:32.509 Amen. 00:04:33.069 --> 00:04:34.590 You may be seated. 00:04:36.750 --> 00:04:45.150 So with today's passage, we shift in Luke, we shift into a series of events that demonstrate the power of Jesus. 00:04:45.310 --> 00:04:51.950 In addition to today's calming of the storm, over the next few weeks, we'll see him exercise demons. 00:04:52.110 --> 00:04:56.270 We'll see him heal a woman of a bleeding disorder. 00:04:56.510 --> 00:04:58.189 He'll resurrect a dead child. 00:04:58.350 --> 00:05:01.230 He'll provide food for a great multitude of people. 00:05:01.470 --> 00:05:14.270 And all of these great displays of power build up to a crucial moment in chapter 9 when Jesus asks his inner circle of disciples, his apostles, two important questions. 00:05:14.510 --> 00:05:16.189 Who did the crowd say I am? 00:05:16.350 --> 00:05:18.430 And who do you say I am? 00:05:18.830 --> 00:05:21.230 See, that's what these stories are kind of doing here. 00:05:21.310 --> 00:05:22.830 That's what they're leading up to. 00:05:23.230 --> 00:05:37.629 Luke is turning up the dial in terms of Jesus' self-disclosure, and he's pressing the people, and he's pressing us to reckon with who Jesus is, just as the disciples had to reckon with for themselves. 00:05:37.790 --> 00:05:40.189 And that's what begins to happen in this story. 00:05:40.510 --> 00:05:48.990 The disciples, they have this incredible experience where they see Jesus overrule the awesome power of nature with nothing but a word. 00:05:49.550 --> 00:05:55.150 And the whole thing is so mind-blowingly wild that they don't even know how to process it. 00:05:55.310 --> 00:05:58.110 They don't, they they they just can't go there yet. 00:05:58.270 --> 00:05:59.150 Who is this? 00:05:59.550 --> 00:06:02.510 That he commands even winds and waters and they obey him. 00:06:03.069 --> 00:06:04.830 Their minds are blown. 00:06:05.069 --> 00:06:06.270 And who is he indeed? 00:06:06.350 --> 00:06:09.310 And how does he help in the storms that come into our lives? 00:06:09.470 --> 00:06:11.150 That's that's what we're considering today. 00:06:11.310 --> 00:06:14.510 Three important things as we do, as we dive into this story. 00:06:14.750 --> 00:06:21.629 The storm is no surprise, the Savior is in control, the sun is in our midst. 00:06:21.870 --> 00:06:26.510 Okay, the storm is no surprise, the savior is in control, the sun is in our midst. 00:06:26.670 --> 00:06:28.510 That's the roadmap for today. 00:06:28.750 --> 00:06:30.350 The storm is no surprise. 00:06:30.590 --> 00:06:33.790 Our passage begins with Jesus in a boat. 00:06:33.950 --> 00:06:38.910 And in the boat he just he says to his disciples, let us go across to the other side of the lake. 00:06:39.150 --> 00:06:42.670 The lake he's talking about here is the lake Gennesaret. 00:06:42.910 --> 00:06:47.470 And that is the Greek name for what the Jews called the Sea of Galilee. 00:06:47.710 --> 00:06:51.629 Now, the disciples they didn't know exactly what Jesus was up to. 00:06:51.790 --> 00:06:56.830 They didn't know why he wanted to cross the lake or what he intended to do on the other side. 00:06:57.230 --> 00:06:58.670 But Jesus did. 00:06:59.230 --> 00:07:08.350 From the beginning of his ministry to the end of his ministry, in everything, Jesus walked in and by the Holy Spirit who guided him everywhere he needed to go. 00:07:08.510 --> 00:07:10.270 He didn't do anything by accident. 00:07:10.430 --> 00:07:12.270 He did everything with intention. 00:07:12.430 --> 00:07:17.629 And where he needed to go in this instance was to the other side of the lake. 00:07:18.430 --> 00:07:20.030 That's kind of obvious, right? 00:07:20.189 --> 00:07:22.830 You don't need a PhD to make that kind of observation. 00:07:22.990 --> 00:07:24.510 Barely worth mentioning. 00:07:24.830 --> 00:07:26.910 So, why mention it? 00:07:27.150 --> 00:07:31.950 Why does it matter that Jesus had his reasons for crossing the lake? 00:07:32.430 --> 00:07:46.670 Well, for one thing, it matters because the very fact that Jesus had business to attend to on the other side should have been enough for the sailors to trust that they would make it safely to the other side, even in the storm. 00:07:48.590 --> 00:07:52.750 Jesus always keeps his appointments, come hell or high water. 00:07:52.990 --> 00:07:56.030 Jesus always keeps his appointments. 00:07:56.350 --> 00:08:02.030 But there's something more fundamental, something we need to see as we consider this story, and that's this. 00:08:02.350 --> 00:08:05.870 The storm is a part of the plan. 00:08:06.510 --> 00:08:12.270 It's not a surprise as though Jesus forgot to check the weather app on his phone before he set out in the lake that day. 00:08:12.430 --> 00:08:14.910 The storm is part of the plan. 00:08:15.550 --> 00:08:23.150 Jesus, who is God and is led by God, put the disciples in this situation knowing full well what lay ahead. 00:08:23.470 --> 00:08:26.350 The storm is not a surprise. 00:08:26.830 --> 00:08:40.189 Now I want to highlight that because when we face our own storms in life, it's really easy to feel like God is absent, that God is unaware, he's not even sleeping in the boat like Jesus. 00:08:40.350 --> 00:08:42.429 He is just nowhere. 00:08:42.750 --> 00:08:47.710 We're taking on water, and the rescue choppers aren't even in the air. 00:08:48.429 --> 00:09:04.909 But the thing we need to know, and the truth we need to hold on to is we push back that sense of abandonment, is that when the storms hit, God is most definitely aware of what we're going through because the storms are no surprise for God. 00:09:05.149 --> 00:09:08.750 In fact, they're his idea. 00:09:09.469 --> 00:09:23.469 Just like Jesus put the disciples in the boat and sent them out onto the lake for reasons that were known only to him, God sometimes leads us right into the path of the hurricane, and he doesn't usually tell us why. 00:09:24.589 --> 00:09:28.269 Now, I know how that sounds. 00:09:29.149 --> 00:09:37.069 Like you might be asking yourself right now, does that mean that God is responsible for my cancer? 00:09:38.110 --> 00:09:40.029 For my divorce? 00:09:40.509 --> 00:09:45.870 Is God responsible for my depression, for my anxiety, for my pain? 00:09:47.389 --> 00:09:51.469 Scripture teaches us that God is sovereign. 00:09:51.949 --> 00:09:55.949 The earth is his in the fullness thereof. 00:09:56.189 --> 00:10:00.029 The lot is cast into the lap, it's every decision comes from the Lord. 00:10:00.189 --> 00:10:03.709 Not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from his divine approval. 00:10:03.870 --> 00:10:05.230 Ephesians 1.11. 00:10:05.469 --> 00:10:09.549 He works all things according to the counsel of his will. 00:10:10.589 --> 00:10:11.469 All things. 00:10:11.629 --> 00:10:15.309 Not just some of the things, but all of the things. 00:10:16.349 --> 00:10:18.669 And so that may be hard to hear. 00:10:18.909 --> 00:10:20.509 It is hard to hear. 00:10:20.750 --> 00:10:25.389 Especially if we divorce it from everything else we know about God in the Bible. 00:10:25.709 --> 00:10:30.189 But if it is hard to hear, consider for just a moment the alternative. 00:10:31.069 --> 00:10:34.189 Consider a world in which stuff just happens. 00:10:34.669 --> 00:10:45.149 The storms roll in with no reason behind them, cells go rogue, people hurt people, the dopamine dries up, things fall apart just because. 00:10:45.389 --> 00:10:50.829 Sorry about your luck, K Sarah, Sarah, you might get out of the storm, or it might drown you. 00:10:50.909 --> 00:10:52.189 We'll just have to wait and see. 00:10:52.349 --> 00:10:53.949 Consider that world. 00:10:54.429 --> 00:10:57.149 Is that the kind of world you want to live in? 00:10:58.429 --> 00:10:58.750 No. 00:10:59.949 --> 00:11:03.389 And thankfully, it's not the world you live in. 00:11:03.629 --> 00:11:13.870 The world you live in, the world we uh the world we live in, is one where God works all things according to the counsel of his will. 00:11:13.949 --> 00:11:20.509 And for those who've trusted Christ, we know that he works those things together for the good. 00:11:20.909 --> 00:11:23.949 For those who are called according to his purpose. 00:11:24.269 --> 00:11:33.949 We know that the God who leads us into the storm is not some maniac puppet master in the sky who likes to watch people squirm. 00:11:34.669 --> 00:11:43.789 He's a good, good father who does everything for a reason and who's working to bless us even through the storm. 00:11:44.589 --> 00:11:59.309 That's why James can say, and at the very beginning of his letter in chapter 1, verses 2 through 3, count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 00:12:00.669 --> 00:12:04.990 For the believer, even our trials are gifts. 00:12:05.389 --> 00:12:13.469 Not because suffering is a good thing in itself, but because God uses the trials in order to accomplish our good. 00:12:14.589 --> 00:12:21.549 God's not surprised by the storm at all because the storm is a part of his plan to get us where we need to be. 00:12:21.789 --> 00:12:31.629 And because he's sovereign over the storm, that means that we can rest assured that he's not just sitting on the sidelines waiting to see how we'll get ourselves out of this mess. 00:12:31.870 --> 00:12:35.309 He is with us, he's with you, he's for you. 00:12:36.110 --> 00:12:46.189 And even if it even if it seems like he's sleeping in the boat, his hand is fully and irrevocably on the wheel. 00:12:46.829 --> 00:12:48.349 That leads to our second heading. 00:12:48.429 --> 00:12:50.269 The Savior is in control. 00:12:51.309 --> 00:12:59.230 So coming back into our story, we see the boat crossing the lake when in verse 23 this great windstorm descends upon it. 00:12:59.309 --> 00:13:01.069 Uh the Sea of Galilee. 00:13:01.149 --> 00:13:03.870 It covers about 64 square miles. 00:13:03.949 --> 00:13:07.709 That's just under three times as big as Percy Priest Lake. 00:13:07.789 --> 00:13:12.189 So not quite a great lake, but it's a big lake, big enough to call it a sea. 00:13:12.429 --> 00:13:22.269 And it sits about 700 feet below sea level, and it's surrounded, it's in something like a bowl, surrounded by hills all around it. 00:13:22.589 --> 00:13:38.829 So when the winds pick up and roll down over the hill, the the the that air collides with the warm air that hangs out over the lake, and it creates a tempest in this relative teapot, all really without much warning at all. 00:13:39.149 --> 00:13:41.309 A storm can just brew like that. 00:13:41.629 --> 00:13:48.909 Now that's an ever-present danger that uh these sailors on this ship would have dealt with for all their lives. 00:13:49.230 --> 00:13:55.389 They've been crossing it, they've been fishing the sea, they knew how to deal with it, generally, but not this time. 00:13:55.870 --> 00:13:59.389 Verse 23 says that the boat was filling with water. 00:13:59.549 --> 00:14:05.230 Actually, it doesn't say the boat was filling with water, it says they were filling with water, the disciples. 00:14:05.469 --> 00:14:14.669 Strictly speaking, that makes no sense, but but Luke phrases it that way to emphasize the mortal danger that faced the people on this boat. 00:14:14.750 --> 00:14:15.870 He says it explicitly. 00:14:16.029 --> 00:14:17.230 They were in danger. 00:14:17.389 --> 00:14:19.870 They're not just freaking out for the sake of freaking out. 00:14:20.029 --> 00:14:24.029 They're in danger, and if something didn't change, they would drown. 00:14:24.669 --> 00:14:32.990 And where's Jesus in the midst of all of that while the boat is pitching and spinning and doing all the things boats do in a storm and taking on water? 00:14:33.389 --> 00:14:34.829 He's asleep. 00:14:35.469 --> 00:14:38.750 He's asleep in the boat, sleeping like a baby, even. 00:14:38.909 --> 00:14:40.509 He needs to be woken up. 00:14:41.389 --> 00:14:46.349 Now, it should be no surprise to us that Jesus had to sleep from time to time. 00:14:46.750 --> 00:14:53.549 Jesus was, Jesus still is, fully man, which means that he experienced all the things that we experience. 00:14:53.870 --> 00:14:57.949 He needed all the things that we need, which includes sleep. 00:14:58.429 --> 00:15:03.469 Jesus got tired, and when he got tired, he slept, just like the rest of us. 00:15:03.709 --> 00:15:05.309 But I think there's more here. 00:15:05.549 --> 00:15:12.189 I think there's more to his sleeping in this scene than just a demonstration of his human need for sleep. 00:15:12.909 --> 00:15:15.949 Let me ask you something as we think about this. 00:15:16.269 --> 00:15:18.990 How well do you sleep when you're stressed? 00:15:20.829 --> 00:15:22.509 Not very well, right? 00:15:22.829 --> 00:15:28.750 Do you sleep better when your life is just falling apart, out of control, chaotic? 00:15:29.230 --> 00:15:34.429 Or when things are going relatively well where you got a handle on things? 00:15:36.029 --> 00:15:37.469 Of course, it's the latter. 00:15:37.549 --> 00:15:41.549 When you've got things under control, when there's nothing weighing on your heart and mind. 00:15:41.709 --> 00:15:43.230 Now think about it here. 00:15:43.629 --> 00:15:50.029 Jesus sleeps like a baby in a boat during a storm. 00:15:50.829 --> 00:15:54.990 You and I wake up on an airplane when there's just a spot of turbulence. 00:15:56.189 --> 00:15:58.110 Now, what does that tell you? 00:15:59.230 --> 00:16:02.750 This isn't the sleep of a man who's bone-tired. 00:16:02.909 --> 00:16:11.469 This is the sleep of a man who's got such a handle on things that he is literally unflappable. 00:16:12.429 --> 00:16:20.509 See, this is where we see the divinity of Jesus begin to peek through even before he wakes up and rebukes the storm. 00:16:20.990 --> 00:16:32.349 And the mind-bending mystery of the incarnation, the sleeping Jesus is the incarnate Son of God, who at Psalm 121, 4 says, does not sleep or slumber. 00:16:33.309 --> 00:16:34.509 So get this. 00:16:35.309 --> 00:16:42.909 Jesus is the sovereign sleeper who carries the boat even as the boat carries him. 00:16:43.870 --> 00:16:47.309 He's in control, even while he's asleep. 00:16:48.349 --> 00:16:51.230 Now, of course, the disciples don't see that. 00:16:51.949 --> 00:16:56.110 They don't see his sleeping as a sign of his sovereign strength. 00:16:56.509 --> 00:17:01.549 If you read this story in Mark, they see it as a sign of his indifference. 00:17:02.349 --> 00:17:05.549 Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? 00:17:06.349 --> 00:17:08.430 But of course, Jesus does care. 00:17:08.829 --> 00:17:12.829 And as soon as the disciples say, Master, Master, we are perishing, he wakes up. 00:17:12.990 --> 00:17:16.110 And he rebukes the winds and the raging waves. 00:17:16.190 --> 00:17:19.710 And just as quickly as he got up, the wind and the waves settle down. 00:17:19.870 --> 00:17:22.430 And a great calm settles over the water. 00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:24.349 Just like that. 00:17:25.309 --> 00:17:26.430 So quick. 00:17:27.390 --> 00:17:29.549 Luke spares details. 00:17:29.710 --> 00:17:30.430 He narrates it. 00:17:30.509 --> 00:17:35.710 Boom, boom, boom, to communicate to us the fact that Jesus didn't make a show of this. 00:17:35.950 --> 00:17:38.349 He didn't utter some sort of incantation. 00:17:38.509 --> 00:17:40.190 He didn't enter into some kind of ritual. 00:17:40.349 --> 00:17:41.789 He didn't say, look at me. 00:17:42.029 --> 00:17:43.869 He said, hey, hey, settle down. 00:17:44.109 --> 00:17:45.149 And that's it. 00:17:45.549 --> 00:17:46.750 Storm was over. 00:17:47.950 --> 00:17:51.470 Now notice what he doesn't do here is he calms the storm. 00:17:52.589 --> 00:17:54.109 He doesn't pray. 00:17:54.750 --> 00:17:56.589 Is that surprising to you? 00:17:57.069 --> 00:18:01.069 He doesn't stop to ask God to put the wind away. 00:18:01.309 --> 00:18:04.829 He simply speaks a word and he does it himself. 00:18:04.990 --> 00:18:07.470 Now, does that mean that Jesus is against prayer? 00:18:07.710 --> 00:18:08.750 Absolutely not. 00:18:08.990 --> 00:18:14.029 There are plenty of times in the Gospels where we need to be taught how to depend on God. 00:18:14.349 --> 00:18:22.750 And Jesus shows us how to do that, or he teaches us how to do that through his own model and his own teaching on prayer. 00:18:22.990 --> 00:18:31.629 But there are other times, like this story right here, where we need to see that Jesus is not just our mediator, although he is. 00:18:31.869 --> 00:18:34.750 Jesus is not just the emissary of the Father. 00:18:35.069 --> 00:18:38.349 Jesus is God in the flesh. 00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:42.829 He is the word of the Lord by and through whom all things were made. 00:18:43.069 --> 00:18:48.750 He is the one who gathers the waters of the sea as a heap and puts the deep in the storehouses. 00:18:49.230 --> 00:18:58.109 The verb for rebuke here, when Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves, is the same verb that's used in the Greek translation of Psalm 106 9. 00:18:58.750 --> 00:19:02.909 He, that is God, rebuked the Red Sea and it became dry. 00:19:03.069 --> 00:19:06.349 And he led Israel through the deep as through a desert. 00:19:07.069 --> 00:19:24.509 So just as God rebuked the sea way back when, when the people of Israel were running from the Egyptians, just as God rebuked the sea and made it stand on end for the salvation of his people, Jesus put the wind and the waves back in their place. 00:19:24.750 --> 00:19:30.269 Jesus does what only God can do because Jesus is God. 00:19:31.069 --> 00:19:34.029 And because he is God, he is in control. 00:19:34.750 --> 00:19:38.670 Whether we can see that or not, and we need to know that. 00:19:38.909 --> 00:19:42.029 We need to know that when we're in the storm. 00:19:42.349 --> 00:20:10.589 Because when your life is chaos, when your enemies are coming at you, when the bills are piling up on your kitchen counter, when the treatments stop working, when when when your grades keep slipping, when your kids stop listening, you need to know that even if it looks like Jesus is asleep in the boat, even if you're praying and it seems like nothing is happening, he is still in full control of the situation. 00:20:11.309 --> 00:20:12.589 He's got you. 00:20:13.149 --> 00:20:16.909 And because he's got you, you've got this. 00:20:18.269 --> 00:20:25.869 Now that may not mean that everything is going to turn out the way you want it to turn out, when you want it to turn out. 00:20:26.109 --> 00:20:39.710 It doesn't mean that the wind and the waves will just up and disappear right away, but it does mean that the one who led you into the storm has everything he needs to see you through the storm. 00:20:39.869 --> 00:20:43.869 And he will be faithful to bring you through to the other side. 00:20:44.029 --> 00:20:47.549 He will never fail to take you where you need to go. 00:20:47.869 --> 00:20:54.670 He will be with you for every step of that journey. 00:20:55.230 --> 00:20:57.549 That brings us to our third and final heading. 00:20:57.710 --> 00:20:59.389 The Son is with us. 00:20:59.869 --> 00:21:04.990 In verse 25, Jesus asks the disciples, where is your faith? 00:21:05.710 --> 00:21:08.909 This is a challenge because there's something amiss. 00:21:09.069 --> 00:21:12.509 There's something awry with the disciples' faith. 00:21:12.829 --> 00:21:17.230 Not just after the storm, but during the storm. 00:21:17.549 --> 00:21:23.549 And this episode shows us that that faith has a ways to go during the storm. 00:21:23.629 --> 00:21:24.589 They believed in Jesus. 00:21:24.750 --> 00:21:26.670 The faith was there to some extent. 00:21:26.829 --> 00:21:34.589 They believed in Jesus enough to ask for his help, but not enough to know that the storm would not overtake them so long as they were with him. 00:21:35.149 --> 00:21:40.509 And after the storm, they found themselves reeling, unsure of what to make of what had just happened. 00:21:40.750 --> 00:21:46.349 So for starters, it says they were afraid, which is a perfectly legitimate response. 00:21:46.589 --> 00:21:50.909 It's one we often see in Scripture when God shows up to do something awesome. 00:21:51.149 --> 00:21:55.149 Human beings tremble in the presence of divinity. 00:21:55.789 --> 00:22:00.509 And yet at the same time we marvel, which is what the disciples do here. 00:22:00.670 --> 00:22:04.190 They are equal parts, terrified and awestruck. 00:22:04.349 --> 00:22:07.389 Like when you stand a little too close to the fireworks. 00:22:07.629 --> 00:22:15.950 It's awesome to see, it's exhilarating, it's thrilling, but the closer you get, the more you realize how liable they are to kill you. 00:22:16.829 --> 00:22:20.589 The disciples have seen Jesus do incredible things up close. 00:22:20.750 --> 00:22:27.869 They've seen him exercise demons, they've seen him heal the sick, they've seen him do signs and wonders, but nothing like this. 00:22:28.269 --> 00:22:31.389 Nothing on such a grand creational scale is this. 00:22:32.029 --> 00:22:34.190 This and it's freaked them out. 00:22:34.509 --> 00:22:37.549 Just like you and I would be freaked out if we were there. 00:22:38.190 --> 00:22:46.829 But the encouraging thing we see here is understanding begins to dawn in the minds of the disciples. 00:22:46.990 --> 00:22:54.029 In verse 25, you see it when they ask each other, who then is this that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him. 00:22:54.670 --> 00:23:07.710 The language of command here it echoes Psalm 107, verse 29, where it says, God made or God commanded the storm to be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. 00:23:08.990 --> 00:23:18.670 So the disciples see something of the power of God at work in Jesus, but their minds are struggling to catch up with their eyes. 00:23:18.909 --> 00:23:22.190 That's why they ask a question instead of making a statement. 00:23:22.509 --> 00:23:23.629 Who is this? 00:23:24.990 --> 00:23:27.950 Something in them knows the answer to that question. 00:23:28.190 --> 00:23:32.430 But the truth is more awesome than they can bear to admit. 00:23:33.149 --> 00:23:42.909 And instead of chastising them for that, instead of flunking them for failing the test and kicking them out of his inner circle, what does Jesus do? 00:23:43.549 --> 00:23:46.909 He patiently shepherds them along. 00:23:47.950 --> 00:24:05.069 He asks where their faith is, not so that he could tear them down, not so that he could kick them out, but so that he can build them up, so that he can challenge them as they move forward in Luke's gospel to grow in their understanding and application of the faith. 00:24:05.230 --> 00:24:08.509 See, discipleship is what we're seeing here. 00:24:08.589 --> 00:24:15.389 And we're seeing that discipleship is a journey, it's a path, it's a process. 00:24:15.710 --> 00:24:20.349 You don't start off knowing everything there is to know about Jesus. 00:24:21.309 --> 00:24:22.670 You step in. 00:24:23.149 --> 00:24:33.950 You come to learn the main lines of the gospel that this Jesus is God in the flesh, that he came to rescue me from my sins by dying for me on the cross and rising again on the third day. 00:24:34.190 --> 00:24:36.909 And then from there you learn, you grow. 00:24:37.149 --> 00:24:42.190 You read more about Jesus and his word, you experience more of him in your life. 00:24:42.430 --> 00:24:53.710 And as you get a closer look at him in all of his glory, as you as you watch him work wonders in you and in the other people around you, you gain a deeper sense of who he truly is. 00:24:54.349 --> 00:24:55.309 You grow. 00:24:56.430 --> 00:25:07.549 The encouraging thing here that we see is that the Son is with us at every step in that process, even in our ignorance, even in our foolishness. 00:25:07.950 --> 00:25:17.869 His presence with us in the storm and after the storm does not depend upon our ability to articulate who he is. 00:25:19.149 --> 00:25:27.710 He doesn't hold himself back from you only to dole out increasing measures of himself as you grow in your understanding of him. 00:25:28.670 --> 00:25:32.190 We don't get more Jesus as we grow. 00:25:32.349 --> 00:25:37.549 We simply come to a deeper understanding of the one we've already got. 00:25:39.069 --> 00:25:40.829 Wrap your minds around that. 00:25:40.990 --> 00:25:44.990 There are no varsity and junior varsity Christians in this room. 00:25:45.309 --> 00:25:48.750 You've been walking with Jesus for 50 years and it shows. 00:25:48.909 --> 00:25:49.789 Awesome. 00:25:50.109 --> 00:25:56.670 You have the same Jesus in the fullness of that Jesus as one who's been walking with him for 50 days. 00:25:56.909 --> 00:25:58.269 And vice versa. 00:25:58.430 --> 00:26:08.109 Because if you're that baby newbie Christian, you don't know the answers to all the questions, you keep falling on your face, you keep embarrassing yourself in polite company. 00:26:08.430 --> 00:26:14.509 You have the same Jesus in his fullness, in his wholeness. 00:26:15.230 --> 00:26:26.029 And you need to know that, and we all need to remember that, because in the storm, it is not the quantity or the quality of our faith that matters. 00:26:26.190 --> 00:26:28.990 It is the object of that faith. 00:26:29.549 --> 00:26:32.269 I've said it before, it's not original to me. 00:26:32.349 --> 00:26:39.470 I'm gonna start sealing it and saying it's original to me, but even a weak faith lays hold of a strong Christ. 00:26:41.549 --> 00:26:43.789 Burn that into your soul. 00:26:44.190 --> 00:26:49.069 Even a weak faith lays hold of a strong Christ. 00:26:50.190 --> 00:26:57.230 This is good news because your faith is as imperfect as the disciples' faith, and so is mine. 00:26:57.950 --> 00:27:01.549 There's still so much for us to see and to understand. 00:27:01.710 --> 00:27:03.710 We've not yet arrived. 00:27:04.029 --> 00:27:16.109 When we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, there will be more to see, there will be more to sing, there will be more to grow, even in glory. 00:27:17.629 --> 00:27:24.430 But even despite their imperfection, Jesus answered the disciples' prayer. 00:27:25.149 --> 00:27:32.349 Even despite our imperfection, the Son holds us in his hand and he doesn't let go. 00:27:33.470 --> 00:27:34.750 He's with us. 00:27:35.149 --> 00:27:40.589 Even when we're blinded, too blinded by our circumstances to grasp what that means. 00:27:40.909 --> 00:27:50.190 He's with us, and we need to be reminded of that time and time again, especially when the skies are clear and our faith has not been tested in a while. 00:27:51.389 --> 00:27:55.869 If you give it enough time, the storms will come. 00:27:56.750 --> 00:28:00.589 That is guaranteed, that is life in a fallen world. 00:28:00.750 --> 00:28:04.990 The storms will come and your faith will be tested. 00:28:05.789 --> 00:28:11.470 And when those storms come, remember the storm is no surprise to God. 00:28:12.349 --> 00:28:17.470 Your Savior is fully in control and He is with you. 00:28:18.589 --> 00:28:23.389 Hold that in your soul for when the day of storm comes. 00:28:23.549 --> 00:28:31.950 But if that day is now, if you're in the storm right now as we speak, I wish I could give you some kind of formula. 00:28:32.509 --> 00:28:47.789 I wish I could tell you that if you just believe in Jesus in this particular way, or if you just name and claim this particular set of promises that the winds will die down, the waves will settle, and everything will be calm. 00:28:48.750 --> 00:28:52.109 But that's not how life works in God's world. 00:28:52.349 --> 00:28:56.269 And anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is a charlatan. 00:28:57.230 --> 00:29:02.670 The best I can do, the best any of us can do is encourage you. 00:29:03.389 --> 00:29:18.589 Because even though you may not be able to see it right now, even if the clouds are filling the sky and the boat is rocking this way and that, and you keep getting sea foam sprayed into your face, the moon is always round. 00:29:19.549 --> 00:29:21.629 God is always good. 00:29:22.029 --> 00:29:33.470 And if you are in Christ, then I can say without a shadow of a doubt that He has brought this storm into your life for His glory and for your good. 00:29:35.230 --> 00:29:36.750 How can I say that? 00:29:37.069 --> 00:29:40.190 How can I be so sure about that? 00:29:41.309 --> 00:29:50.509 I can say it because if you are in Christ, then Jesus underwent his own storm for you and for me. 00:29:51.230 --> 00:29:55.869 In perfect control of himself, in perfect control of his circumstances. 00:29:56.029 --> 00:30:02.829 The one who possessed life in himself willingly laid down that life for your salvation and mine. 00:30:03.629 --> 00:30:13.549 He allowed himself to be overtaken by the storm so that he could have you and be with you forevermore. 00:30:14.269 --> 00:30:17.149 So he knows, he knows what it's like to be you. 00:30:17.389 --> 00:30:36.430 He knows what it's like to be where you are, he knows what it's like to be in the midst of the storm, but more importantly, he knows what it's like to come out safe on the other side, even if that means you have to pass through death or something that feels like death in order to get there. 00:30:37.470 --> 00:30:49.869 Even if you're plunged into the heart of the sea, even if, from a worldly perspective, it all falls apart, the storm will not ultimately overtake you. 00:30:50.269 --> 00:30:53.950 Your Savior will never leave your side, he will be with you. 00:30:54.190 --> 00:31:03.069 And when the winds finally die and the waves finally settle, you will see the sun as he steps out from behind the clouds. 00:31:03.230 --> 00:31:04.829 And here's the crazy part. 00:31:05.069 --> 00:31:10.990 Here's the part that sounds insane, but I can assert and affirm beyond a shadow of a doubt. 00:31:11.230 --> 00:31:17.149 When he steps out from behind those clouds, you will praise and thank him for the storm. 00:31:18.670 --> 00:31:21.309 I don't say that as a cheap encouragement. 00:31:21.549 --> 00:31:29.149 I don't say that as the kind of thing that you slap on a coffee mug in order to read every day to minimize your trials and your sufferings. 00:31:29.309 --> 00:31:38.909 If anything, we ought to maximize the reality of suffering in a fallen world and call it what it is and lament over it just like we see Scripture lament over it. 00:31:39.470 --> 00:31:47.950 But we do that in order to know that Jesus is with us in the storm and leading us safely to the other side. 00:31:48.109 --> 00:31:58.990 And he gets all the glory, and we get all of the good for him having worked even the hard things together for us and for our salvation. 00:31:59.789 --> 00:32:01.069 Let's pray. 00:32:06.109 --> 00:32:08.269 Father, these are hard things. 00:32:10.029 --> 00:32:14.190 These are words that are so easy to misconstrue. 00:32:14.909 --> 00:32:20.829 These are words that are so hard to receive sometimes, especially when we're in the midst of the storm. 00:32:22.109 --> 00:32:28.269 Lord, I pray that you would help us to hear what you have us to hear this morning. 00:32:28.589 --> 00:32:36.109 For those who are in need of deep comfort, Lord, we pray that the Holy Spirit would give them comfort that only you can give. 00:32:36.589 --> 00:32:48.509 And those who have been comforted through the storm, Father, we pray that you would give them words for others, so that they might comfort others with that same comfort which they have received from you. 00:32:49.230 --> 00:32:52.269 Lord, we thank you for the comfort of the gospel. 00:32:52.670 --> 00:33:00.029 We thank you for the glorious truth that though we were dead in our sins and trespasses, you made us alive together with Christ. 00:33:00.750 --> 00:33:13.710 Lord, I pray that you would make us to remember that glorious truth again and again so that when we're in the storm, when we feel like life is death, we can remember what we have in Jesus. 00:33:14.109 --> 00:33:16.349 It's in his name that we pray. 00:33:16.670 --> 00:33:17.309 Amen. 00:33:18.990 --> 00:33:24.909 I'd like to invite our ruling elders forward now to prepare the Lord's table for us. 00:33:25.789 --> 00:33:31.389 So much of what we've been talking about this morning can feel really abstract. 00:33:31.629 --> 00:33:42.269 It can feel like a bunch of nice words, platitudes, things that are kind of flitting about in the air where it's like, yeah, that would be great to believe, but I just can't go there right now. 00:33:42.670 --> 00:33:54.109 You might have an idea in your head that God is in control and that Jesus is with you, but all you can really feel right now is the waves crashing against you. 00:33:54.909 --> 00:34:00.670 That is why Jesus gave us these tangible signs and seals of his grace. 00:34:01.230 --> 00:34:08.750 So that even when we are in the place where it's hard to feel the truth, we can literally lay hold of it. 00:34:09.070 --> 00:34:28.829 So if your faith is in Christ, if you have trusted in him for salvation, if you've been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, if you've joined yourself to a body of believers where the Bible is preached and taught, where you can know and be known and shepherded, then Jesus says, come, come to the table. 00:34:29.150 --> 00:34:35.389 Come as one of God's people and be strengthened, be encouraged, and know that you're not alone in the storm. 00:34:35.710 --> 00:34:42.029 You have Jesus Christ Himself and you have the body of Christ with whom you are united through Christ. 00:34:42.269 --> 00:34:44.909 So come partake and partake as a family. 00:34:45.230 --> 00:34:52.509 When Scripture talks about us proclaiming the death of Jesus till he comes, it's a good question to ask: who are we proclaiming to? 00:34:52.829 --> 00:34:55.070 The people out there or the people in here? 00:34:55.630 --> 00:34:57.710 The answer to that question is yes. 00:34:58.029 --> 00:35:06.590 So when you come to the table and you lay hold of the promises of Christ and we partake together, we encourage one another. 00:35:06.750 --> 00:35:12.509 We remind one another that no matter what the storm looks like right now, none of us is alone. 00:35:13.230 --> 00:35:16.750 So be mindful of that as you come forward to participate. 00:35:16.989 --> 00:35:31.389 And if that's not your story, if you're not, by your own admission or confession, a part of this, if you have not yet taken your place with Christ, then refrain from coming to the table. 00:35:31.710 --> 00:35:33.789 Scripture says, wait. 00:35:34.269 --> 00:35:39.230 Scripture says, come to Jesus first, and then come to his table. 00:35:40.190 --> 00:35:46.829 And I can speak for every one of these guys up here right now and say that we earnestly desire that for you. 00:35:47.230 --> 00:35:58.190 So if you have questions about it, if you want to know more about these things I've been sharing this morning in this gospel and who Jesus is and what he's died to accomplish, please come see one of us. 00:35:58.349 --> 00:35:59.949 We'd love to talk about it. 00:36:00.190 --> 00:36:01.469 But now I'm gonna pray. 00:36:01.630 --> 00:36:06.590 We're gonna come forward and receive the elements, and after everybody's been served, we'll partake together. 00:36:06.750 --> 00:36:08.429 Father, thank you for this meal. 00:36:08.670 --> 00:36:11.710 Thank you for giving us these tangible signs and seals. 00:36:11.869 --> 00:36:18.269 Thank you for giving us something that we can hold on to, that we can see, that we can smell, that we could touch, that we can taste. 00:36:18.509 --> 00:36:23.789 To be reminded that you are ours and we are yours. 00:36:24.029 --> 00:36:28.110 And we belong to one another through Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:36:28.349 --> 00:36:30.110 It's in his name that we pray. 00:36:30.349 --> 00:36:30.909 Amen.